Bryant, Gasol lead Lakers over Blazers

Basketball Betting Lines

02/21/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What a difference a day makes.

Kobe Bryant, just 24 hours after expressing his displeasure regarding the Lakers' handling of star forward Pau Gasol, was all smiles after scoring 28 points in Los Angeles' 103-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.

Gasol, mired in trade talks throughout the season, totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrew Bynum added 14 and 19 in the win, the Lakers' fourth in five games.

Steve Blake scored 14 of his 17 points in a first half that saw the hosts lead by as many as 30. The Blazers' comeback ultimately came up short and they fell for the fourth time in six games.

"In the first half, that's the best we played, especially defensively," Bryant said. "We came out with great energy."

LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum paced Portland with 18 points apiece.

Prior to the game, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak responded to Bryant's comments by saying it would serve no purpose to announce publicly whether or not the team will deal Gasol.

A roster shakeup didn't appear necessary the way the Lakers opened Monday's contest.

Portland put itself in a hole in the first quarter, hitting just 3-of-17 (18 percent) from the field. The Lakers had separate runs of 10 and 13 points during the Blazers' slow start and cruised to a healthy 29-7 lead.

"We didn't come out ready to play. I thought we started the All-Star break early," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said.

Blake began the second quarter with a pair of three-pointers, and two Bynum free throws pushed the margin to 30 a little later.

Batum halted an eight-minute scoreless drought with a jumper, but the Blazers were still down, 52-30, at halftime.

Seven Portland three-pointers in the third, including Batum's trey in the closing seconds, helped close the gap to 80-66 with 12 minutes to play.

The Blazers had several chances to pull within single digits in the fourth. Jamal Crawford turned the ball over trailing 84-74, and the Lakers scored the next six points, going up 90-74 on Bryant's jumper at the midway point.

With 3 1/2 minutes to play, Wesley Matthews missed a three-pointer that could have cut the deficit to nine, and again LA responded with six of the next seven points to pull away for good.

Game Notes

The Lakers close out the first half of the season with a visit to Dallas on Wednesday, while Portland hosts the Spurs on Tuesday in its final game before the All-Star break...The Lakers improved to 14-2 at home...The Lakers are 5-0 when scoring over 100 points...The Blazers announced Monday that center Greg Oden will miss the remainder of the season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee. This was the fifth surgery the 7-foot Oden has endured since he was taken by the Blazers with the first pick in the 2007 draft.

Wwwmoneyplayscasino Basketball Betting News

<< Warriors pull away late against Clippers
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Monta Ellis scored 32 points and the Golden State Warriors finished on a 9-0 run Monday night to beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 104-97, and snap a three-game losing streak. David Lee added 24 points

<< Vinci, Errani advance at Monterrey
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Roberta Vinci advanced to the second round at the $220,000 Monterrey Open on Monday. The Italian defeated American Coco Vandeweghe in 7-5, 7-5 fashion on the hardcourts at Sierra Madre T

<< Top-seed Petrova ousted in Memphis first round
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi sent top-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova packing in the first round at the $220,000 Memphis International tennis event. Giorgi ousted the former world No. 3 Petrova in straig

<< No. 13 Baylor outlasts Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quincy Acy carried No. 13 Baylor to a comeback win, a hard-fought 77-72 victory over in-state rival Texas sealed by Pierre Jackson's clinching free throws in the final minute. Acy made up for poor shootin

<< Nuggets slip by T'Wolves in OT
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arron Afflalo drained the go-ahead shot with 33.7 seconds remaining in overtime and the Denver Nuggets outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves, 103-101, on Monday. Afflalo had 20 points overall and Al

Fanning-Otis to retire as MSU women's hoops coach >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sharon Fanning-Otis, Mississippi State's all-time winningest women's basketball coach, announced Monday she will retire at the end of the season Fanning-Otis has amassed a 608-457 record during her 36 y

Local rivals collide in Raleigh >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels continue their run toward the ACC regular-season title, as they make the short trip to Raleigh to take on rival NC State in a conference battle at the RBC Center. Ro

Top-ranked Kentucky eyes up SEC crown >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting the nation's longest win streak, the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats are closing in on an SEC regular-season title and hope to gain at least a share of the conference crown this evening, as they take on t

Instate rivals clash in ACC affair >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Tech Hokies shoot for back-to- back wins for the first time in 2012 as they host the 25th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers in ACC action tonight at Cassell Coliseum. VaTech, which has won a total of ju

Wolverines meet Wildcats in Big Ten action >>
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding a three-game win streak, the 11th- ranked Michigan Wolverines try to make it a clean sweep of Northwestern, as the two Big Ten programs clash at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston tonight. Michigan, now tied

Online Sportsbook Football Betting

LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP

With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.

There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.

Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.

MySportsbook is considered one of the finest football sportsbooks according to several surveys performed by independent industry analysts considering such factors as payout accuracy and timeliness, overall quality of website, and bettor satisfaction.

MySportsbook is a large company with strong financial backing. Considered the best sportsbook for betting football online You will find their customer service is second to none and their web site is extremely user friendly and easy-to-use. All major professional sports games are available. Once you signup with MySportsbook, you may never use another online sportsbook again.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football gambling needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.