Richardson and Heat clobber Bulls

Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quentin Richardson made 7-of-11 three-pointers on his way to 23 points while pulling down seven rebounds, as the Miami Heat handled the Chicago Bulls, 108-95.

Jermaine O'Neal had a season-high 25 points to go with six rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 2-0 on a six-game homestand and have won five of six, overall. Dwyane Wade chipped in 22 points and seven assists for Miami, which got 17 points off the bench from Mario Chalmers.

James Johnson and Jannero Pargo each finished with 20 points for the Bulls, who dropped to 0-2 on a four-game road trip and lost for a seventh straight time overall. Brad Miller tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Flip Murrary registered 15 points off the bench in defeat.

Already without Luol Deng (calf) and Joakim Noah (foot), Chicago was without the services of All-Star point guard Derrick Rose (sprained left wrist).

With the score tied at 53-all early in the third, the Heat went on a 19-7 spurt. O'Neal tallied eight points during the stretch, including a hook shot to make it a 72-60 game with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. The score was 79-67 heading to the fourth.

Ahead 84-77 midway through the fourth, Miami went on an 11-0 burst to essentially seal the victory. The Bulls lost their cool during the flurry, with Miller receiving a flagrant foul and technical foul. Kirk Hinrich got a technical as well before being ejected for arguing with the officials. Chicago was down by 18, 95-77, following the run.

Ahead 15-13 near the midway point of the first quarter, the Heat ripped off seven straight points with Wade's deuce making it 22-13 with 2:17 left. Miami led after 12 minutes, 28-22.

Miami extended the margin to 10 early in the second, but the Bulls then scored seven consecutive points to get within three, 32-29, on a Miller free throw with about eight minutes remaining.

Chicago kept it close and tied the game at 49-all on Johnson's three-point play with 30 seconds to go. Wade's free throw gave Miami a 50-49 edge at the break.

Game Notes

The Heat lead the season series with the Bulls, 2-1...Chicago has lost five straight games at Miami...The Heat were without forward Michael Beasley due to a bruised left thigh...Miami suspended forward Dorell Wright for two games after he was charged with driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license on Thursday...Miami went 24-of-32 from the foul line, while the Bulls made 12-of-17 shots from the charity stripe.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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