Thornton keys late spurt as Hornets beat Clippers

Basketball Betting Lines

03/16/2010 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Marcus Thornton hit a pair of three- pointers during a big New Orleans run in the fourth quarter, and David West led all scorers with 24 points, as the Hornets pulled away late to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 108-100, at Staples Center.

Darren Collison continued his solid play with 18 points and 14 assists for the Hornets, who have won 13 straight against the Clippers. Morris Peterson and Thornton each netted 17 to help New Orleans break its seven-game road losing streak.

Rasual Butler led six Clippers in double figures with 19 points. Both Drew Gooden and Baron Davis chipped in 18, while Davis racked up a game-high 17 assists for LA, which has dropped eight in a row.

As per the entire game, New Orleans and the Clippers each took multiple leads in the quarter. Thornton tied the game at 85 with just over eight minutes remaining to start a 19-4 New Orleans run, culminating in a West step-back jumper with four minutes left to give the Hornets the 102-89 edge with 4:02 left.

Included in that burst was 11 straight points, giving the Hornets a 98-87 lead. Thornton hit a pair of three-ball and Peterson added another in that short flurry.

The Clippers trimmed the lead to eight on a Travis Outlaw triple to end the game.

Both teams traded buckets until the Hornets took a seven-point lead at 22-15 with 3:57 to go in the opening quarter on a Peterson triple. New Orleans finished the frame up 26-23.

The Hornets held the edge for most of the second quarter, but the Clippers took the lead at 45-44 on a Davis slam with 1:27 left in the half. DeAndre Jordan then converted on a three-point play to give the Clippers the 50-46 halftime advantage.

New Orleans took the lead back in the third and maintained a 58-54 edge on a Collison triple with just over eight minutes to go. But the Clippers took the advantage back at 59-58 on a Butler three.

The lead went back-and-forth in the final minutes of the period, but a Davis running bank shot gave the Clippers the 78-77 edge after three.

Game Notes

New Orleans shot 56.5 percent for the game...Emeka Okafor scored 12 and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Hornets...The Clippers fell to 16-9 with a lead after three quarters...Collison has double-digit assists in six of his last eight games...Jordan added 11 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for the Clippers.

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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