11/21/2008 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter poured in a season-high 39 points, including the desperation three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime and the game-winning alley-oop dunk as time expired in the extra frame against his former team, to lead the Nets in a wild 129-127 win over the Raptors.
Devin Harris scored 30 points and had five helpers for the Nets, who have won three of four. Jarvis Hayes and Brook Lopez totaled 14 points apiece in the win.
Chris Bosh had 42 points and Jose Calderon had season-highs of 26 points and 15 assists for the Raptors, who have dropped four of their last six games. Andrea Bargnani had a career-high of 29 points and a season-high with 10 boards. Jermaine O'Neal had seven points and seven boards before leaving in the first minute of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee.
Bargnani hit a three from the top of the arc for a 119-116 Raptors lead midway through the extra frame.
Hayes hit a three from the right wing to tie the game at 121. Toronto then turned the ball over and Harris hit a jumper with 45.5 ticks left to make it 123-121.
Bargnani's three-ball didn't fall and Harris grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 19.1 seconds left. He hit 1-of-2 to keep it a one-possession game, 124-121.
Again Bargnani took a three and again it didn't fall, giving New Jersey the ball. With 13.2 seconds remaining Keyon Dooling was fouled and hit 1-of-2 to make it a four-point game.
Bosh nailed a desperation three with five seconds left, but Carter was fouled and hit both shots to make it 127-124.
Anthony Parker drained a three from the left wing with 2.1 to tie it.
With the game seemingly headed for another overtime, Carter had other ideas. Bobby Simmons inbounded the ball with a high lob towards the basket and Carter grabbed it and slammed home a beautiful reverse dunk that sealed the win for the visitors as time expired.
"I don't even know what to say now," Bosh said. "I'm so upset about the game."
The Raptors jumped out to a 33-22 lead after the first quarter. The 33 first- quarter points was a season-high for Toronto. Toronto kept pressing and opened a 61-47 lead at the half. The teams traded baskets and Toronto led 85-76 heading into the final 12 minutes.
Down by eight, Ryan Anderson's layup sparked seven unanswered New Jersey points. Harris followed with a pair of free throws and a three-point play to make it 86-85 with 9:07 showing on the clock.
Harris' layup tied it at 93 with 6:20 left in regulation.
Bosh drove in for a layup and was fouled by Anderson, he then completed the three-point play for a 96-93 Toronto lead with about 4 1/2 minutes remaining.
Calderon was fouled by Harris after the Raptors stopped the Nets, and he hit both shots for a five-point lead.
Kris Humphries poured in a layup after Carter missed a shot for the Nets, and it was 100-93 in favor of the home team. The visitors eventually pulled within four points on a jumper from Lopez, but Calderon drained a three to make it 104-97 with 1:53 left.
A Carter three from the left wing made it 108-104 with 24.2 ticks showing, and Bargnani was called for a five-second violation to give the possession away. On the ensuing New Jersey possession, Carter drove in a dropped in a finger roll to make it a two-point game.
Calderon was then fouled with 14.7 seconds showing, he hit both shots to again make it a four-point affair. But Carter netted a layup to make it a two-point differential. Parker was fouled, but missed 1-of-2 and the Nets had a chance down three with 3.2 seconds left.
Following a timeout, Carter took the inbounds pass from Simmons a few feet behind the top of the arc and drained a wild three in Parker's face to square the contest at 111 with 0.5 seconds showing. The teams headed for overtime as Toronto couldn't score on the final play.
"I wanted to get my feet set not shoot it any different than any other shot and it went down," said Carter. "About midway I said this is going in. I was at about half court by that time. I was happy to get into overtime, it was a lot of momentum for us."
Game Notes
Carter also added nine boards and six assists...It was a season-high in points scored for both teams...Bargnani, Calderon and Bosh accounted for 42 of the Raptors' 61 first-half points...Toronto owns a 2-3 record as the host this season...The Nets are 3-2 away from the Meadowlands this season...Toronto went 3-1 against the Nets last season and had won five of the past seven matchups...New Jersey had lost four straight at the Air Canada Centre.
<< Staal records hat trick as 'Canes top Coyotes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Staal snapped an eight-game goalless
drought with his fifth career hat trick, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a
5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at RBC Center.
Ray Whitney added a pair of third
<< Hansbrough starts against UCSB
Santa Barbara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - North Carolina senior forward Tyler
Hansbrough, who missed the first two games of the season, started Friday night
when the top-ranked Tar Heels battled UC-Santa Barbara.
Hansbrough missed the firs
<< Lewis has the Magic in OT win over Pacers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, including
the final seven for Orlando in overtime, as the Magic edged the Indiana
Pacers, 100-98, for their fifth straight victory.
Lewis finished 9-of-12 from th
<< Smith helps Duke top Michigan in MSG title game
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nolan Smith scored 16 points and Kyle Singler
added 15 points and eight rebounds as 10th-ranked Duke topped Michigan, 71-56,
in the title game of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Gerald H
Villanueva, Bucks crush short-handed Knicks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Villanueva scored 20 points and
grabbed six rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 104-87 victory over the
New York Knicks.
Andrew Bogut scored 14 points and hauled in 17 boards for the Bu
Stempniak leads Blues to OT win over Ducks >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lee Stempniak's goal 2:39 into overtime
lifted St. Louis over Anaheim, 3-2, at Scottrade Center.
Stempniak gained control of the puck near center ice, and once over the Ducks'
blue line, crossed to th
Mavs finally get first home win, top Grizzlies >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 25 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks got their first home win
of the season at the expense of the Memphis Grizzlies in a 91-76 victory at
America
UCLA's Aboya injures wrist >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA forward/center Alfred Aboya injured his
left wrist in Friday's 77-60 win over Southern Illinois at the 2K Sports
Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Aboya scored 22 points for the fourth-rank
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers SPORTS TRASH TALK
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting