T'Wolves fend off Sixers to snap eight-game skid
Basketball Betting Lines
11/19/2008 -
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson led all scorers with 25
points, as the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped an eight-game losing streak with
a 102-96 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Craig Smith added 21 points off the bench for Minnesota, which picked up just
its second win of the season -- the Timberwolves won their opener against
Sacramento.
Mike Miller finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and made a
three-pointer with 30.4 seconds left that helped Minnesota to the win.
Andre Miller had 20 points and six assists to lead the Sixers, who had won
three in a row. Elton Brand finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while
Andre Iguodala added 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists in the loss.
"There's no guaranteed wins in this league," Brand said. "(Minnesota's) been
playing pretty tight ballgames. They've lost a lot of games by five points or
less. They're hungry out there...Like I said, there's no 'gimmes' in this
league."
The T'Wolves held the lead going into the fourth quarter, 76-65, but saw
Philadelphia trim its deficit to six points. Lou Williams had two layups, the
latter he turned into a three-point play, that made it an 82-76 contest.
Minnesota briefly restored its double-digit cushion, but the Sixers continued
to chip away and with 4:12 to play, Andre Miller drained a pair of free throws
to bring Philadelphia within 88-84.
Following a Minnesota miss, Iguodala took a fast-break pass, drove to the
hoop and made a circus layup from the right side to get the Sixers within two.
Jefferson then got a basket for the T'Wolves, but Iguodala continued to
hustle in the lane on the other end. He first tried a baseline layup, then
collected the rebound and nailed a short jumper while being fouled. The free
throw got Philadelphia within a point, and after the teams traded points --
Jefferson deposited a pair of layups -- Minnesota's lead stood at just 94-91
with 2 1/2 minutes left.
"I just had to take over. It's like I always said, I don't feel like I have to
take every shot in crunch time," Jefferson said. "But the ball should come to
me."
The teams were unsuccessful on their next possessions, and Iguodala got to the
line with 1 1/2 minutes on the clock. He made just one shot, but Smith made
only one for Minnesota.
The Sixers got the rebound off the miss on Smith's second shot, setting up
Andre Miller's jumper with 50.4 ticks left. But Mike Miller canned a wide-open
triple to put Minnesota ahead 98-94 with 30.4 seconds remaining.
Brand got the rebound off an Iguodala missed three-pointer, and got a fadeaway
jumper to fall with 18.4 left. But the Sixers, still down two, were forced to
foul. Randy Foye and Corey Brewer each made two free throws in the remaining
time to seal Minnesota's win.
The Sixers were up 19-6 on an Iguodala triple midway through the first. But
the T'Wolves came back with a 12-2 run, and had a 27-24 deficit at the end of
the stanza.
Minnesota edged in front in a mostly back-and-forth second quarter, and was
ahead 56-52 going to intermission. The T'Wolves then opened up their lead with
a nine-point burst shortly into the third quarter and were ahead 67-56 midway
through.
Game Notes
Iguodala made just 1-of-6 three-point attempts, as the Sixers finished 1-
for-11 behind the arc for a 9.1 percent success rate. Philadelphia, though,
did shoot 47.1 percent overall...Minnesota shot 51.4 percent from the
field...Foye finished with 10 points and six assists for the T'Wolves, while
Ryan Gomes had 14 points...Thaddeus Young contributed 15 points for the
Sixers.
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Colts give the ‘D’ its due
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smith and Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running back Deuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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