Arenas leads Wizards over T'Wolves
Basketball Betting Lines
02/21/2007 -
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gilbert Arenas poured in 38 points, and
Washington never trailed in a 112-100 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Arenas was a miserable 1-of-8 from three-point range, but made up for the
shortcoming by hitting on 11-of-16 inside the arc to go along with a 13-for-15
performance from the foul line.
DeShawn Stevenson came up with a season-best 23 points for the Southeast
Division-leading Wizards, who have won back-to-back contests following a two-
game skid. Washington beat Minnesota for just the third time in the last 11
meetings.
Caron Butler contributed 15 points and Andray Blatche tied a career-high
with 12 rebounds for Washington.
Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Minnesota, which has dropped
six of its last nine contests. Ricky Davis ended with 24 points and Mike James
scored 20 for the Timberwolves.
It was a solid win for the Wizards in the first game after the All-Star break,
even though the T'Wolves made a big run in the third to get close and were
within six points late in the fourth.
Minnesota trailed 64-48 early in the third, but rallied and closed the gap to
72-68 following a Garnett turnaround jumper with 2:42 remaining in the
quarter.
However, Washington widened its margin to 83-74 going into the fourth after
Darius Songaila drilled a jumper at the buzzer. Arenas then hit a three and a
jumper to start the fourth, but Minnesota managed to rally.
A pair of free throws by James capped a 6-1 spurt, drawing Minnesota within
104-98 with 1:47 remaining.
Antonio Daniels responded with a pair of free throws, and after a turnover and
a missed shot by Davis, Blatche put the finishing touches on the victory with
a layup inside of a minute left.
Mark Blount and Randy Foye each had 10 points for Minnesota.
Arenas' fadeaway shot capped six consecutive Washington points early for a
10-4 margin and Brendan Haywood's jump hook extended the lead to 19-10. It was
31-19 after 12 minutes and 57-44 a the half.
Game Notes
Minnesota has lost eight of its last 11 at Washington...The home team has won
six straight meetings...This was the first of two meeting this season with
another contest set for Minneapolis Sunday afternoon...Washington center Etan
Thomas returned from a two-game suspension and had eight points and six
boards...The Wizards went 3-of-16 from three-point range...Arenas is 8-for-51
on three-point tries this month.
<< Sabres double up Flyers
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as the first-place Buffalo Sabres crushed the last-place Philadelphia Flyers,
6-3.
Chris Drury, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist for
<< Anderson ices the game at the line as Bobcats top Hornets
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton scored 21 points and doled out
11 assists, and the Charlotte Bobcats topped the New Orleans/Oklahoma City
Hornets, 104-100.
Gerald Wallace also tallied 21 points, and grabbed seven reb
<< Thomas, Bruins blank Maple Leafs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas stopped 44 shots to record his
third shutout of the season, helping the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 win over the
Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
Stanislav Chistov, P.J. Axelsson, and
<< Thrashers storm past Hurricanes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Johan Hedberg made 33 saves to lead the Atlanta
Thrashers to a 3-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in a big Southeast
Division battle at RBC Center.
Marian Hossa had a goal and an assist and Ilya
<< Providence knocks off No. 22 West Virginia
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Alexander missed a wide open three for a
tie with 14.5 seconds left then Herbert Hill iced the tournament resume-
building victory with a breakaway slam, as Providence downed No. 22 West
Virgini
Rutgers women rout Providence >>
Piscataway, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matee Ajavon scored 23 points and Epiphanny
Prince added 14 to lead 21st-ranked Rutgers to a 69-34 pounding of Providence.
Heather Zurich tallied 10 points for the Scarlet Knights (18-7, 11-3 Big
East
No. 18 Bowling Green rolls over Kent State >>
Kent, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amber Flynn poured in 21 points and led six
players in double figures, as 18th-ranked Bowling Green defeated Kent State,
89-66, at the M.A.C. Center.
Kate Achter scored 14 points, Carin Horne chipped
Crawford, Curry propel Knicks over Magic >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford and Eddy Curry each scored 20
points to lead the New York Knicks over the Orlando Magic, 100-94, at Madison
Square Garden.
Quentin Richardson added 15 points and David Lee had 14 points and
Nebraska falls to Iowa State >>
Ames, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Megan Ronhovde scored 15 points and pulled down
eight rebounds, as Iowa State defeated 25th-ranked Nebraska, 64-53, at Hilton
Coliseum.
Lyndsey Medders poured in 13 points and had nine boards for the Cyclones
(
Higgins, Ryder lead Habs over Caps >>
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Higgins and Michael Ryder netted two
goals each to guide the Montreal Canadiens past the Washington Capitals, 5-3,
at the Bell Centre.
Garth Murray added an empty-net goal in the closing seconds and
Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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