Anthony leads Nuggets past Sixers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/18/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony had 26 points and 14 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets continued a successful run on the road with a 101-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.

Chauncey Billups scored 17 of his 22 points in a pivotal third quarter while Nene had 17 for the game to go along with seven boards in the win for Denver, which improved to 5-1 on an eight-game trek dating back to February 4.

Kenyon Martin chipped in 11 points for the Nuggets, who will also visit Chicago and Milwaukee on the swing and moved to 17-11 on the road this season.

Andre Miller paced Philadelphia with 17 points but left in the third quarter with a right calf strain and did not return. He is scheduled for an MRI on Thursday.

Lou Williams contributed 15 points off the bench while Thaddeus Young and Samuel Dalembert each had 12 points in the loss, the Sixers' second in a row following a four-game win streak.

Andre Iguodala was just 1-of-6 from the field for 10 points in 27-plus minutes and fouled out for the first time this season.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 25-13 lead after 12 minutes and stretched the advantage to 16 early in the second on a fastbreak deuce by Iguodala before Denver cut the deficit to 10 at halftime, 47-37.

However, a 24-4 run that spanned the opening seven-plus minutes of the second half allowed for a 20-point swing as the Nuggets surged ahead 61-51. Billups scored 13 over the run with a pair of long-range field goals and finished the frame with 17 points but the Sixers were able to trim the lead to three, 71-68, with a late 10-4 spurt.

Philadelphia, though, endured another paltry stretch to open the fourth, going four-plus minutes without a field goal as Denver built up an 83-70 lead. The Nuggets' lead was 10 at the five-minute mark as the Sixers' leading scorer in Iguodala fouled out and Martin hit both of his free throws.

Denver went on to control the game from there as the Sixers rolled over with just two field goals in the fourth before chucking up a host of three-pointers over an already-decided final two minutes.

Game Notes

Denver defeated Philadelphia, 105-101, on December 26 this season at the Pepsi Center and has won five of the last seven meetings...The Sixers, who recently went 5-2 on a seven-game homestand before visiting Indiana, had won four straight in Philly and fell to 17-12 as the host this season.

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Pro Football Odds : NFC SOUTH BETTING ODDS

NFL Sports Betting

NFL betting action is back! At MySportsbook, all of the pro football odds are posted for the NFC North. Check out how we see the four teams in this cloudy division stacking up this year in the chase for the playoffs! Green Bay Packers (+125) - With QB Aaron Rodgers leading the offense and DC Dom Capers working his magic on defense, the Packers are a real force to be reckoned with.

Virtually nothing changed on this offense for Green Bay from last year to this year, save for the addition of rookie OT Brian Bulaga to the bunch. Expect more huge numbers from the Pack, and a relatively favorable schedule should get them over the hump and into the playoffs once again this season. My NFL Betting Predictions: 11-5, 1st place in NFC North Minnesota Vikings (+130) - There are still too many unknowns about the Vikes this year. There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not.

There is a huge difference between QB Brett Favre and either Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels under center. Plus, is Favre comes back, is he really going to be able to keep his pick total under double digits again? Depth at running back looked like it might have been an issue with RB Chester Taylor fleeing in free agency, but drafting RB Toby Gerhart should pick up the difference. This defense is still suitable, but with a first place schedule, making the playoffs is going to be very tough regardless of whether #4 comes back or not. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.

Chicago Bears (+350) - The Bears are probably a bit of an overhyped team once again this year.No, we don't think it is plausible for QB Jay Cutler to have as bad of a season as he did last year, and we do think the additions of RB Chester Taylor and DE Julius Peppers are going to help immensely, but there's still something in the water in the Windy City that we aren't so sure about. Maybe Chicago finds its way to .500... but then again, maybe it doesn't. If Favre comes back, Cutler might be the worst quarterback in this division this year.

Detroit Lions (+1500) - The Lions are probably once again going to be the whipping boys for the rest of the teams in the NFC North, but they aren't just going to roll over and die once again. There is some real talent amassing on this team offensively, as the combination of QB Matt Stafford, RB Jahvid Best, WR Calvin Johnson, and TE Brandon Pettigrew should put a bunch of points on the board if the offensive line can even remotely hold up. The questions really lie on defense, where it feels like DT Ndamukong Suh is going to be trying to stop opposing teams all by himself. This year should show some marked improvement in the Motor City.

The Patriots will make NFL betting fans a lot of money this season, get in early and enjoy the cash.

NFL Betting

To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your NFL football betting needs.

Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.