11/20/2008 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 20 points and Greg Oden had a successful regular season home debut, as the Portland Trail Blazers dominated the Chicago Bulls to the tune of 116-74 at the Rose Garden.
The game marked the first meeting between the top pick in the 2008 and 2007 drafts. Oden, who was playing his first regular season home game one year and 144 days after he was picked in 2007, scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 17 1/2 minutes of action. Chicago's Derrick Rose was picked first in the most recent draft and shot just 1-of-8 for six points on the night.
"We're becoming dominant at home," said Blazers forward Channing Frye said of the team's 4-0 home record while being interviewed by teammates Roy and Martell Webster. "We've got to continue to establish our game, like running the ball and playing unselfish. Tonight everyone was scoring. Chicago tried to play good d. We took them out of their stuff early and kept putting pressure on them."
Oden, who sat out his first season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee, received a standing ovation as he entered the game off the bench in the first quarter. He came into the game averaging 15.3 points in his last three games after totaling three points in his first two contests. The seven- footer poured in a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds in Tuesday night's win over Golden State.
"I think it started with our defense and shadowing Rose," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "That seemed to disrupt their offense. With the kind schedule we've had, and the close games we've had, we like to have a game like that."
Joel Przybilla added 14 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for the Blazers, who have won six of eight. LaMarcus Aldridge posted 11 points in the victory.
"Overall I thought we just came out and were all about business," McMillan said. "From start to finish, this was our best game of the season. We got aggressive from the start, got our rhythm and hit our shots."
Andres Nocioni came off the bench to score 13 for the Bulls, who have lost four of six. Drew Gooden and Ben Gordon each scored 11 points, while Larry Hughes posted eight points for Chicago.
"They jumped on us early," said Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro. "They put a little pressure on us and got us out of it a little bit. Their big guys just controlled the paint on us. We got in foul trouble early. From the tip, they controlled the tempo of the game. We had too many turnovers and we got back on our heels. The list can go on and on. It was just one of those games where we could never get anything going. Give Portland a lot of credit."
Steve Blake scored five early points for the Blazers, who took a 12-1 lead to open the game. Portland extended its lead to 25-7 with just over four minutes left on Oden's emphatic dunk -- his first points at the Rose Garden in the regular season.
"We just came out from the jump and they applied a lot of pressure defensively," Gordon said. "We couldnt get anything going. We could just never get over that hump. It seemed like the game was over before it even started the way we came out tonight."
The Blazers finished the first quarter up 34-13, as the Bulls missed 10 of their last 12 field goal attempts while shooting a paltry 25 percent overall (5-for-20) for the quarter.
The Portland lead eventually grew to 30, and the hosts carried a 62-37 into halftime. Roy led all scorers in the half with 12, while Oden had nine points and seven rebounds.
The Blazers led by as many as 36 in the third quarter thanks to a 14-0 run and were in front 88-57 going into the fourth. Portland started out the fourth on a 14-2 spurt, leading by 47 at one point in the rout.
Game Notes
Portland has beaten Chicago three straight times...The Blazers dominated the paint, outrebounding the Bulls, 49-33...Blake had 10 points and five assists before leaving with a gash on his head after hitting a camera in the third quarter...Chicago moved to 0-2 on a seven-game road trip that started with a 116-109 loss to the Lakers Tuesday night...Every Portland player scored at least one point...The Blazers' largest margin of victory was 50, when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 129-79, on November 21, 1982.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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