Brooks perfect from long distance, Rockets end Memphis' road run

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brooks led all scorers with 31 points and made all seven of his three-point attempts as the Rockets topped the Grizzlies, 107-94, ending Memphis' franchise-record seven-game road winning streak.

Brooks broke the team record for most triples in a game without a miss for the Rockets, who won their season-high fourth straight contest.

Luis Scola aided in the winning effort with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Kevin Martin netted 18.

Zach Randolph racked up 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who have lost two of three.

Rudy Gay scored 14 points, while Marcus Williams and Mike Conley each dropped in 11 in the losing effort.

Memphis trimmed the Rockets lead to 82-76 on a Williams three to start the final quarter, but Houston extended its hold to double-digits on a Shane Battier triple over two minutes into the frame. The Rockets led by as many as 13 in the quarter.

"After the first quarter, we defended them well," said Rockets coach Rich Adelman. "We really moved the ball effectively in the fourth quarter."

Houston got within a point at 13-12 in the first quarter on a pair of Brooks free throws, but Memphis put together a 9-0 stretch, capped off by a Conley foul shot with under three minutes left. The Grizzlies finished the frame up 29-22.

Memphis held a 10-point edge at multiple points in the second quarter, but the Rockets fought back with a 11-4 run to end the half down only two at 55-53 on a pair of Martin foul shots.

Houston tied the contest at 55 on the first basket of the third quarter, on its way to an 11-2 flurry to extend the Rockets advantage to 64-57 with just over eight minutes left.

The Grizzlies cut the deficit to 70-68 on a Darrell Arthur jump hook with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, but the Rockets kept the lead and finished the period up 82-73 after Brooks drained his fifth consecutive triple and Scola converted on a finger roll in the final minute.

Game Notes

Houston's Jordan Hill registered a career-high nine rebounds...The Rockets improved to 13-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better. They shot 22-of-35 from the field in the second half..Brooks has made a three in a franchise-record 39 straight games...Houston guard Kyle Lowry left the game with an apparent ankle injury.

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Betting Football

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.