Harris' big night helps Nets upend Detroit in Iverson's debut

Basketball Betting Lines

11/07/2008 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Harris tallied a career-high 38 points to lead New Jersey past Detroit, 103-96, spoiling the debut of Allen Iverson in a Pistons uniform.

Iverson, who had 24 points and six assists in defeat, was acquired Monday from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. Iverson hadn't suited up for the Pistons, missing two games since the trade was finalized, because Billups hadn't completed a physical for his new team.

Josh Boone had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who snapped a two-game skid. Vince Carter also had 18 points and added seven assists, while Yi Jianlian had 12 points and nine boards in the win.

Richard Hamilton totaled 22 points for the Pistons, who lost for the first time this season to fall to 4-1. Tayshaun Prince ended with 19 points and 11 boards and Rasheed Wallace had 11 and seven.

A pair of free throws from Rodney Stuckey drew the Pistons within a point, 78-77. However, New Jersey got four points, two from Boone and two from Harris, to increase its lead to 82-77 with 8:15 left in the game.

Iverson interjected with a jumper, but Yi nailed a three-pointer, Boone connected on a putback dunk and Carter hit a free throw to up the Nets' lead to 88-79 with 6:11 left in regulation.

An Iverson fadeaway and a 2-of-2 performance from Stuckey at the stripe made it a five-point game, but a basket each from Carter and Jarvis Hayes made it 92-83, Nets, with a little under three minutes left.

As the clock ran under one minute, a Hamilton three brought the visitors within four points, but Harris responded with a layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled by Stuckey. Harris made both tries to open a 102-94 lead with 18 seconds left.

The Nets held on down the stretch to secure the win.

The Pistons led 27-14 after the first quarter, but the Nets woke up to cut their deficit to 44-39 at the half.

The teams traded baskets and the lead before eight points from Harris, all coming at the foul line, gave the home team a 70-62 lead with about three minutes left in the third stanza.

The Pistons answered by closing out the third on an 8-2 run to pull within 72-70 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

Game Notes

Harris went 20-of-24 from the foul line...The Nets hit 3-of-13 (23 percent) from behind the arc. The Pistons were 10-of-25 from three-point range...Detroit won all three meetings with New Jersey last season and had won seven straight in the series.

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2007 NFL Football Betting Preview


“You play to win the game!”

Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.

The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.

The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.

Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?

Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.

New York Giants betting lines

Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.

Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.

Dallas Cowboys betting lines

Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.

The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.

Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.

Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.

Oakland Raiders betting lines

This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.

First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”

The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason. 

Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.

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