Ivey's strong fourth quarter leads Sixers past Heat

Basketball Betting Lines

02/07/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Royal Ivey came off the bench and scored 10 of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a 94-84 comeback victory over the Miami Heat.

Fellow reserve Marreese Speights chipped in 15 points and six boards for the Sixers, who improved to 3-2 during a seven-game home stand. Andre Miller posted 15 points and five assists, while Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala contributed 14 and 12 points, respectively, in a winning cause.

Dwyane Wade tallied 21 points but failed to make a field goal in the fourth quarter, as Miami fell for the fourth time in five games. Wade also dished out seven assists, while Mario Chalmers scored 18 points and Michael Beasley 14 in defeat.

The Sixers, who made a whopping 30-of-36 from the foul line in the game, managed to inch back from a six-point deficit to start the fourth quarter. Their first seven points in the frame came at the stripe, and Ivey's bucket gave Philly a 74-73 lead with 9 1/2 minutes to play.

Ivey and Young each hit from downtown during Philly's game-altering 14-1 spurt, and Ivey stole a lackadaisical Chalmers pass and dropped in a fastbreak layup for an 84-74 margin with about six minutes on the clock.

Philadelphia continued to play front-runner, as Miami could only get as close as eight the rest of the way.

The Heat withstood the Sixers' early sharp-shooting and trailed just 26-23 after the opening 12 minutes.

The hosts went over four minutes without a point in the second quarter, but Miami also struggled from the field and the teams limped towards a 44-44 tie at the intermission.

Miami scored the first six points of the second half and stayed ahead the entire period. The Sixers shot a putrid 4-of-18 from the field in the frame and were on the wrong end of a 69-63 score after three periods of play.

Game Notes

Philly was playing its second game after finding out forward Elton Brand will undergo season-ending surgery on his ailing shoulder...The Sixers, who are 15-11 as the host on the year, will finish their homestand with bouts against Phoenix and Memphis...The Heat fell to 10-15 on the road this season...Miami has lost six of seven to the Sixers...Willie Green and Lou Williams each had 10 points for Philly, which also received a game-high 10 rebounds out of Samuel Dalembert.

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Betting the NFL preseason

Rule No. 1 in the gamblers' handbook states, "Avoid sports betting on meaningless games."

When you're drowning in a sea of baseball monotony, however, things change. Even a hint of pro football betting can persuade the most disciplined bettor to break a few rules. 

The NFL preseason is around the corner, with a tempting Hall of Fame match kicking off on Sunday. But bettors must stay vigilant. Wagering on NFL exhibition games is an entirely different beast than the regular season. Most fans don't recognize the players on the field because starters get as much action in August as Warcraft fans get on Prom night.

The only certainty about the NFL this time of year is uncertainty – and yet there are some who say betting in August can be a gold mine.

“I actually feel the NFL preseason presents solid profit opportunities for sharp bettors and handicappers,” Sports Expert Steve Merril explains. “My experience has been that the sportsbooks fear the preseason, which is evident by lower limits and massive moves.”

The line moves are attributed to the limited knowledge available regarding playing-time distribution. One team’s top unit out on the field for one more series has an impact on the pointspread. Setting lines in the preseason often is a shot in the dark.

“We base the betting lines mostly on public perception,” Pete Korner, founder of the Sports Club in Las Vegas, says. “It’s very tough to predict, almost a guessing game.”

The preseason is all about figuring out who’s in and for how long.

“It becomes a race between bettors and oddsmakers to find out how long the quarterbacks are going to stay in,” Korner admits. “If a sharp gets the information first, he could exploit an early line. I’m a full believer in moving the line in the preseason if the books find out something late in the week.”

Determining what each team’s motive is can help bettors handicap. To do this you must pay close attention to the philosophies head coaches employ in exhibition play.

“You need to know what a coach is trying to accomplish,” says Covers Expert Bryan Leonard. “Sometimes a new coach will want to instill a winning attitude. Others just want to make sure their starters don’t get hurt."

So how do you distinguish who’s playing scared and who’s playing for keeps?

“Head coaches on the hot seat or new coaches trying to implement a winning attitude usually try harder to win in the preseason,” Merril says.

Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel fits this criteria. He’s entering his third season as the sideline boss and has yet to lead the Browns to more than six wins.

Cleveland is an enticing bet as well because of the unresolved quarterback situation. General manager Phil Savage sacrificed the Browns’ first-round pick in next year’s draft for Brady Quinn, but the former Notre Dame quarterback hasn’t signed or reported to training camp yet.

Charlie Frye and Derek Anderson split time at QB last season and it looks like either player (or even Quinn) could be the opening-day starter.

“If a team has quarterback depth and the pecking order hasn’t been decided, it’s a big advantage,” Leonard says.

Even in the third week of the preseason when starters generally play the most, the final outcome of the game is in the hands of fringe players. A team's talent, all the way down to the last man on the roster, is something to consider.

The New England Patriots have long been considered one of the deeper teams in the NFL and coach Bill Belichick has said in the past he’s unafraid of stars getting hurt in games with nothing on the line. He shocked his colleagues in 2003 by playing some of his starters on special teams in the preseason.

“We want to have the team ready to play a tough, physical game and preparation has to go into that and I imagine a certain amount of injuries go with it,” Belichick told the Providence Journal in August 2003.

Bettors can only hope to find more teams that share the Pats' business-like approach to the preseason (New England is 17-9-3 against the spread since 2000) and take advantage of teams who detest the exhibition schedule.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on football needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.