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Bosh, Bargnani lead Raptors over Timberwolves in Toronto

Basketball Betting Lines

02/24/2009 - Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani both scored 26 points to lead six double-digit scorers, as the Toronto Raptors hung on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 118-110, at Air Canada Centre.

Anthony Parker added 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out six assists for the Raptors, who has won four of its last six outings. Jose Calderon ended with 15 points and 13 helpers, while Jason Kapono added 11 points off the bench in the win.

Minnesota was paced by Randy Foye, who finished with 25 points, including five three-pointers. Ryan Gomes ended with 23 points for the Wolves, who have dropped three straight games. Kevin Love added 15 points, while Sebastian Telfair finished with 12 points and Mike Miller grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in defeat.

After Miller's jumper tied the game at 84 early in the final quarter, Toronto used a 9-2 run to build a seven-point cushion. Parker's three-point play culminated the spurt with under 10 minutes remaining.

Kevin Ollie's jumper with just over 7 1/2 minutes remaining cut the margin to three, 97-94. But the Raptors outscored Minnesota 6-1 in the following minute to extend their lead to eight, 103-95.

The Wolves fired back with six consecutive points to cut the gap to two, 103-101, with about 5 1/2 minutes to go.

Ahead 105-103, Toronto essentially sealed the win with an 11-3 surge. Parker topped off the run with a trey from the corner with 1 1/2 minutes left.

Trailing 6-4 early in the contest, Minnesota took control of the quarter with a 21-7 run to go ahead by 12, 25-13. Love and Gomes combined to score 12 points during the surge, which was capped off with a Foye three-pointer with 5:18 to go.

The Timberwolves, who led by as many as 14 in the period, took a 37-25 advantage into the second frame.

Down 49-33 with under eight minutes until half, Toronto found their groove and cut the gap to one, 51-50, with a 17-2 spurt. Bargnani tallied eight points during the run, which he topped off with a pair of foul shots.

During the less than six-minute surge by the Raptors, Minnesota shot a measly 1-of-9 from the field. But they held onto a 56-52 edge going into the locker room. Bargnani had 13 points in the half on a 4-of-8 shooting performance from the field.

Toronto carried its momentum from the end of the first half over into the third period. The Raptors started the third frame with a 13-4 run to take their first lead since early in the first quarter. Calderon stole the ball from Foye and hit Bargnani for a deuce to culminate the spurt. But the Wolves fought back with a surge of their own.

Minnesota responded with an 11-2 spurt to take a 71-67 lead with under seven minutes remaining. Foye hit two shots from beyond the arc to start the run, while Gomes capped it with a three-point play and a layup.

The Raptors closed the stanza on a strong note and held onto a 84-82 advantage after 36 minutes of play.

Game Notes

The Raptors went 20-of-21 from the foul line, while the Wolves shot 16-of-19 from the stripe...Minnesota has lost five straight and seven of its last eight at Toronto. It is 3-11 all-time at Air Canada Centre.

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What Is the Point Spread?

What are Sports Betting Point Spreads?

In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.

Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).

If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).

Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.

How to Read Point Spreads

New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)

In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:

  • Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
    OR
  • Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.

  • There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.

    The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:

    Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots

    Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.

    For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically

    Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:

  • Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
    OR
  • Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score

    Who Really “Won” the Super Bowl odds ?

    Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21

    The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.

    Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.

    Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).

    Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.

    And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.

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