Durant helps Thunder pick up impressive win over Blazers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/06/2009 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant had 31 points to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 102-93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers at the Ford Center.

Nick Collison had 21 points and 13 rebounds while Jeff Green added 20 points and nine boards for the Thunder, who snapped a three-game slide.

Brandon Roy had 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Travis Outlaw added 20 points and six boards for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped their last two games.

The Trail Blazers faced a 15-point deficit to start the fourth quarter, but were able to slowly chip away at the deficit, as three free throws from Roy made it an 89-78 game with 7:50 to play.

A bit later, Outlaw scored four unanswered points and his free throw with 3:56 to play made it a 92-84 game.

Durant answered with a slam to reestablish the 10-point edge for the Thunder, but Jerryd Bayless made 1-of-2 from the line for a 94-85 deficit.

After two Collison free throws, Roy made a long three-ball to make it an eight-point game with 1:19 to play, but Russell Westbrook hit a clutch jumper. Roy and Westbrook then traded layups with Westbrook's coming with 37 seconds to play to seal the win.

It was a tight game for the first six minutes of the first quarter, but, with the score tied, the Thunder got seven straight points and had a 21-14 lead after Durant's layup with 5:10 left in the frame.

After a Joel Przybilla tip shot stopped the bleeding, Durant scored five unanswered points and after 12 minutes of play Oklahoma City held a 37-25 lead.

The Thunder continued to play front-runner in the second quarter as the team started the frame with the first seven points.

Portland was unable to put together a healthy run as Oklahoma City continued to expand on its advantage and took a 60-40 lead into the locker room.

Oklahoma City kept Portland at bay for most of the third quarter and held a 22-point lead as Green slammed the ball home for an 81-59 advantage with 2:50 left in the frame.

Portland, though, rallied with the final seven points of the third to cut its deficit to 81-66 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Portland hosts New York on Sunday...The Thunder host Sacramento on Sunday... Portland has lost four straight as the visitor in the series...Oklahoma City shot 50 percent while Portland made 45 percent of its baskets...Portland's Greg Oden, who was selected as the top overall pick over Durant in the 2007 Draft, logged four points and two rebounds in just over 16 minutes of play.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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