11/20/2008 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, doled out six assists and hauled in five rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets in a 91-81 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
"We've just come in every night focused on the game plan and focused on what we got to do to beat whatever team it is," Billups said. "We've played some tough teams, and we've been successful, so we just got to continue to build on what we've done."
Carmelo Anthony poured in 21 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out seven helpers for the Nuggets, who have won four straight and seven of eight overall. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and Nene 16 in the win.
"I think this team is really starting to feel good about what they are doing on the basketball court," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "I really feel like we got things done as a team tonight. I really enjoyed the defensive intensity in almost every possession."
George Hill scored 20 points for the Spurs, who saw their season-high three- game win streak come to an end. Michael Finley gave 13 points, while Tim Duncan had 12 points and 11 boards.
"It's very disappointing when you lose a game," Hill said. "You always go out there to win. We learned from it. We learn from our mistakes. We made a couple of bonehead mistakes down the stretch, and it hurt us. It just shows you, in this league you can't make mistakes. You have to be successful at both ends of the court."
The Nuggets held a slight 22-21 lead after 12 minutes but opened a 50-40 lead at the break.
Denver led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but a Duncan three- point play made it 62-51 with five minutes left in the stanza.
With the Spurs still trailing by 11, the Nuggets closed out the quarter with an 11-1 run to take a 75-54 lead into the final stanza. Billups had seven points on the run, with Anthony pouring in two technical free throws off a Duncan foul, while Martin's dunk closed it out.
A Roger Mason layup and Anthony Tolliver three-pointer brought the Spurs to within 14 points, 85-71, with 5 1/2 minutes left.
The home team failed to close within the final margin the rest of the way, as the Nuggets cruised to an easy victory.
Game Notes
The Spurs went 2-for-17 from three-point range. The Nuggets were 6-of-13 from behind the arc...San Antonio was 29-of-75 from the field, as Denver hit 30- of-65 shots from the floor...Denver improved to 5-1 since acquiring Billups in a trade for Allen Iverson with Detroit.
<< Portland G Blake leaves game
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Wednesday's 116-74 win over the Chicago Bulls after cutting his head on a
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Blake dove for a loose ball out of bounds but
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Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - C.J. Miles scored 25 points to lead Utah
to a 105-94 comeback win over the Milwaukee Bucks, as the Jazz won their 14th
straight home game going back to last season.
Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 11
<< Raptors overcome Wade's 40-point night win in over Heat
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points,
leading the Toronto Raptors over the Miami Heat, 101-95, in a tough road test
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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
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Liang, Sterne share lead at Hong Kong Open >>
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the Hong Kong Open.
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Iverson leads Pistons into Beantown >>
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The Pistons have won four
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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.
Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.
According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).
Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.
''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.
Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.
''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''
Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.
”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.
For complete odds on the Kentucky Derby, visit MySportsbook.com. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
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