Durant powers Thunder over Warriors

Basketball Betting Lines

01/28/2012 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant's double-double of a season-high 37 points and 14 rebounds powered the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 120-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors Friday night.

Russell Westbrook had a terrific all-around game with 28 points, 11 assists and seven steals for the Thunder, who own an NBA-best 16-3 record. Serge Ibaka also posted a double-double with a season-high 20 points and 12 rebounds, while James Harden contributed 19 points off the bench.

"Serge was big, the offensive rebounds and his baskets around the paint," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "He can guard small guys. That's the advantage that we do have. When we want to go with our big lineup, Serge can step out and guard smaller players because of his athletic ability and length he can cover three-point shooters."

Dorell Wright drained six shots from beyond the arc en route to a season-high 23 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Golden State, which has dropped four of its last five games. David Lee scored 19 points in defeat.

With 8:33 remaining in the fourth quarter, Klay Thompson's turnaround jumper trimmed the Warriors' deficit to 88-85. But Oklahoma City responded with a 12-1 surge, and Nick Collison completed a three-point play at the foul line to put the visitors up 111-96 with just over two minutes left.

"[The Thunder] scored 28 points in the last 5 1/2 minutes basically," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "They have a different motor. They're a different animal. We have to learn how to do that. We don't have the luxury to be able to turn it on when we want to. It's a good lesson for us."

Oklahoma City led by as many as 10 in the first quarter, but Golden State pulled even at 50 on a Monta Ellis free throw with 1:57 to play in the opening half. However, the Thunder closed out the second stanza on a 7-2 run, giving them the same five-point lead they owned after 12 minutes.

In the third quarter, Ellis hit a driving layup to draw the Warriors within one at 65-64. Oklahoma City, though, carried an 85-77 lead into the final frame.

Game Notes

Oklahoma City notched a season-high in points...Durant and Westbrook each committed seven of the Thunder's 22 turnovers...Stephen Curry had 15 points and six assists for Golden State, while Ellis added 13 points on 5-of-17 shooting...The Thunder snapped a two-game losing streak in Oakland...Oklahoma City held a 53-34 rebounding advantage and made 32 free throws to Golden State's 15...The Warriors shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) from three-point range.

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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?

The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.

While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.

For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.

1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.

2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.

How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.

Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.

Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.

How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).

Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.

Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.

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