Nuggets visit the Big Easy to take on Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One slip at the controls and the Denver Nuggets will have some company atop the Northwest Division standings. They'll try to prevent that from happening tonight, when they resume a four-game road trip against the New Orleans Hornets in the Big Easy.

Denver has won four in row and sits just one game ahead of Utah in the division. The Jazz have also won four straight and will play Milwaukee Friday night at the Bradley Center.

The Nuggets are one game behind Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference and opened the trek with Wednesday's 110-102 triumph at Minnesota thanks to 25 points from Chauncey Billups. It was the 19th time in the past 28 games in which Billups has scored 20-plus points. He is averaging 22.9 ppg over that stretch.

Carmelo Anthony recorded 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Nene contributed 17 points and nine boards for Denver, which is 15-16 away from the Rocky Mountains and will also visit the Grizzlies and Rockets on the trip. The Nuggets played without head coach George Karl, who had to take a game off for the second time this season. Karl is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to combat throat and neck cancer.

"We know how our team does against certain teams," assistant coach Adrian Dantley said. "We got to correct that and try to come out with effort and play harder. But no matter how much George might tell them or I might tell them, we still took it easy in the first half and came through in the second half. We don't like that but it worked out for us tonight."

Denver has scored 110 points or more in each of the last four games, averaging 117.3 ppg in that time. It is 8-12 in the previous 20 road games after beginning the campaign 7-4 as the visitor.

Meanwhile, the Hornets are running out of time on a possible postseason spot and sit six games off the eighth and final playoff berth in the West. They have dropped five of the last six games, including Wednesday's 98-83 setback at Oklahoma City.

David West netted a game-high 33 points and Marcus Thornton chipped in 11 points off the bench for New Orleans, which got eight points and nine assists from rookie Darren Collison. Collison is averaging 18.5 points, 8.8 assists, 3.5 rebounds in 27 games as a starter. He has taken over nicely for injured All-Star guard Chris Paul.

"Tonight we just didn't have enough of a response to some of the things they were doing," West said of the young Thunder. "They've got a really good group of young players. They're backcourt was strong. I think they're penetration area just beat us out front."

West is posting 30.5 points on 25-of-38 shooting in his last two games. The Hornets will try to improve its 21-11 home record tonight before opening a five-game road trip on Sunday. On the injury front forward James Posey (illness) is questionable for Friday's game.

The 2009-10 series between Denver and New Orleans is tied at a game apiece, with each team holding ground as the host. These two teams have split the past 26 matchups.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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