Heat and Magic battle for Sunshine State bragging rights

Basketball Betting Lines

02/08/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Since their heart-to-heart meeting among players and coaches following a loss at Milwaukee last week, the Miami Heat haven't suffered defeat and hope to continue that trend tonight against the Orlando Magic in the opener of a six-game road trip.

Miami has won three in a row and 11 of its last 13 games since a season-worst three-game slide and posted its sixth straight win in South Beach with Tuesday's 107-91 over LeBron James' former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. James had 24 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Dwyane Wade led the Heat with 26 points. Chris Bosh tacked on 15 points and nine boards for Miami, which got 14 points from both Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem.

"We (the Miami Heat) just understand that no game is over until it is over," Wade said. "We know teams are going to fight against us because they have a lot of pride. We did a good job of really locking in defensively and turning up the engine."

Wade has scored 20-plus points in a season-high five consecutive games, and in six of his last seven contests. The Heat's 19-6 record is the best 25-game start in franchise history. The previous best was 18-7 (three times).

The Heat are 7-4 away from home this season and are scheduled to make other stops in Washington, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Indiana and Cleveland.

Orlando had won three in a row since a four-game slide, but fell back into the loss column with Monday's 107-102 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the opener of a three-game homestand.

Magic point guard Jameer Nelson returned from a five-game absence due to concussion-like symptoms and registered 15 points and a season-high 12 assists. The Magic, who went 3-2 without Nelson in the lineup, received 33 points and 14 rebounds from Dwight Howard.

"The only thing I fault our guys for was the start of the third quarter. The first six minutes, we came with no energy whatsoever. The rest, it's on me," Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Orlando is playing eight of 10 games at home and owns an 8-5 record at the Amway Center this season.

The Magic and Heat split four meetings a season ago and the last eight matchups overall. Miami has lost eight of 10 games in central Florida. James averaged 30.0 ppg last season against Orlando, while Howard had averages of 18.5 points and 14.8 rebounds. Howard is averaging 16.8 points and 12.5 boards in 28 career games in this series. James is posting 28.4 ppg in that same amount of games lifetime against the Magic.

Van Gundy served as the Heat's head coach for two-plus years from 2003-05, compiling a 112-73 (.605) record.

Betports Basketball Betting News

<< Nuggets entertain Mavs at Pepsi Center
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Western Conference contenders mired in losing streaks square off in the Rockies tonight when the Denver Nuggets play host to the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. The Nuggets dropped their third in a r

<< Sharks, Flames clash in San Jose
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Staring at a two-week long road trip, the San Jose Sharks would love to pick up four big points before leaving the friendly confines of HP Pavilion. They'll look to accomplish step one of that plan this evening and extend

<< Spurs continue Rodeo Road Trip in Philly
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs were able to get their annual Rodeo Road Trip off to a promising start, but must face a pesky Philadelphia 76ers squad that hasn't backed down from any team tonight at Wells Fargo Center. San Antonio

<< Skinner, Hurricanes begin trip in Anaheim
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is starting to find his groove again after missing time with a head injury. Hopefully the club's cross country road trip won't derail his momentum. Carolina begins its three-game journey ton

<< Bucks and Raptors meet at ACC
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Bucks try to avoid a fourth straight loss this evening when they open a brief two-game road trip against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Bucks played hard on Tuesday to no avail, as they overcam

Blue Jackets sign Prospal for another season >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Blue Jackets signed veteran forward Vinny Prospal to a one-year contract extension on Wednesday. Prospal, who turns 37 later this month, leads the team with 24 assists and ranks second w

Pistons and Nets kick off home-and-home set in Jersey >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Only one of Detroit's six wins this season has come on the road and the Pistons would like to change that as early as tonight, when they pay a visit to the New Jersey Nets in the opener of a home-and-home set. The Pistons

Bulls hope to have Rose in New Orleans >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The best from the NBA's Eastern Conference meets the worst from the West when the Chicago Bulls resume their grueling nine-game road trip against the lowly Hornets in New Orleans. The Bulls won their third straight con

Mr. Lin goes to Washington >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Linsanity has officially hit New York. Tonight Jeremy Lin tries to continue his amazing play when the New York Knicks go after a third straight win against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center. After netting

Call of the wild: Wolves, Grizzlies clash in Memphis >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-improved Timberwolves will aim to win for the second time in as many nights without All-Star Kevin Love when they take on the Grizzlies in Memphis tonight. Love, who leads the Wolves in both scoring (25.

Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game

How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).

Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).

Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING

NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com