Magic beat Nets for 9th straight time
Basketball Betting Lines
02/22/2012 -
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard had 20 points and 17 rebounds, but
the Orlando Magic may have made their biggest run of the game with him on the
bench Wednesday night in a 108-91 win over the New Jersey Nets.
Orlando beat New Jersey for the ninth straight time mostly on the strength of
a 24-12 run while Howard sat on the bench after getting in early foul trouble.
Glen Davis scored 12 of his 16 points during the surge, which gave the Magic a
20-point lead in the second quarter. Ryan Anderson had 14 points and nine
rebounds and Orlando moved to 10-3 in February after ending January on a four-
game losing streak.
The Magic have won 15 of their last 17 meetings with the Nets, who played
without forward Kris Humphries in this one because of a strained calf. It was
New Jersey's final game before the All-Star Break.
MarShon Brooks scored 24 points to lead the Nets, while Deron Williams added
23 points and eight assists. The Nets have lost 12 of their last 15 games.
The Magic shot 62.5 percent in the first quarter to take a 34-17 lead into the
second.
Their 24-12 run spanned both quarters and came after Howard was whistled for
his second foul with four minutes remaining in the first. Davis knocked down
six buckets during the surge, which gave the Magic a 47-27 lead with under
seven minutes left.
The advantage reached as high as 22 and Orlando carried a 58-41 lead into the
break.
The Nets were within eight points briefly in the third quarter, but that's as
close as it got. Howard led a 12-2 run after that to push Orlando's lead to 18
and it was 87-70 going into the fourth, where New Jersey was never closer than
13.
Game Notes
The Nets will start a four-game road trip at Dallas next Tuesday...The Magic
are 2-1 on a five-game road trip that straddles the All-Star break. They have
one game left before the weekend, at Atlanta on Thursday...New Jersey's last
win over Orlando came at home on April 11, 2009.
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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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