Magic beat Sixers by 21

Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists, and seven Orlando players scored in double-figures to help the Magic rout the 76ers, 126-105, at Wachovia Center.

Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter each added 19 points for the Magic, who have won eight of 11 overall and six straight regular season games over the Sixers, whom the team beat in the first round of last year's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Matt Barnes contributed 16 points, and Dwight Howard had 14 points. J.J. Redick recorded 11 points, and Mickael Pietrus 10 to complete the balanced attack, as Orlando shot a blistering 58.4 percent from the field and 65.2 percent from three-point range.

"Obviously we shot the ball very well, and this game came down to who made shots," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "I don't think either team put much effort in defensively quite honestly. It was pretty easy for both teams to get shots and we shot better than they did."

Jrue Holiday posted a career-high 23 points -- 15 in the first quarter -- for the Sixers, who were coming off a 1-3 road trip. Andre Iguodala added 19, while Thaddeus Young had 17 in a losing cause.

"We lost the passion to compete," said 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan. "We were dominated, but we have to learn how to compete and keep our chin up. This team hasn't learned that, and it's a lack of leadership in that room (the locker room). The coaches are trying -- believe me."

Lou Williams scored 13 points and dished out seven assists, and Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 11 boards for Philadelphia.

Holiday matched his career-high in points in the first quarter with 15, as the Sixers took a 36-35 lead after 12 minutes. But the Magic went in front by a 68-61 margin at halftime.

Orlando then dominated Philadelphia in the third quarter, pulling away for good.

A Barnes three-pointer in the early moments had the visitors ahead by 10, 73-63, and a Lewis triple later put the Magic ahead by a score of 94-79 with just over three minutes to go.

After Marreese Speights drilled a shot for Philadelphia, Orlando scored eight straight points to end the quarter. Nelson's three capped a period where the Magic went 11-of-16 from the field, giving the team a commanding 102-81 advantage heading to the fourth.

Orlando led by as many as 28 in the final period.

Game Notes

Orlando defeated Philadelphia in six games in last season's playoff series...Holiday had six assists...Carter had seven rebounds...Howard had a season-low in rebounds with three. The last time he was held to three or fewer rebounds was when he grabbed only three boards in a loss to Phoenix on December 11, 2006...Philadelphia shot 48.8 percent from the field...The Sixers played without forward Elton Brand, who sat due to Achilles' tendinitis.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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