Spurs top Thunder; Durant held under 25

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02/24/2010 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili poured in 26 points and had nine rebounds off the bench, leading the San Antonio Spurs to a hard-fought 95-87 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, as Kevin Durant's incredible streak of 25-point games came to a screeching halt.

Ginobili went 9-of-18 from the field and had 10 points in the fourth quarter, as the Spurs returned home following their annual rodeo road trip on which they went 4-4. Tim Duncan had 19 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, while George Hill added 16 points and five boards -- including two crucial offensive rebounds in the final two minutes.

Durant, who had scored at least 25 points in 29 consecutive games, finished with only 21 points -- zero in the fourth quarter, and Oklahoma City lost for the second consecutive time after an impressive nine-game win streak. Jeff Green provided 19 points, while Russell Westbrook had 17 with seven assists and six rebounds in defeat.

Thabo Sefolosha contributed 12 points and 13 boards for the Thunder, who had a five-game road win streak snapped.

The Spurs led by one with under four minutes to play, and three-pointers by Hill and Ginobili sandwiched around two Westbrook free throws gave the hosts a 92-87 lead with two minutes to go in the game.

After Westbrook missed a 16-footer for Oklahoma City on the next possession, the Spurs held the ball for nearly a minute thanks to two consecutive offensive rebounds. Hill grabbed a Ginobili miss and also came down with the rebound after Richard Jefferson missed a pair of free throws with 1:07 left.

Ginobili was then fouled and made two shots at the line to extend the lead to seven with under a minute left, and San Antonio held on from there.

Durant scored 11 points in the opening quarter, and the Thunder held a 27-23 lead after the first 12 minutes.

Oklahoma City remained in front by two with 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half, but the Spurs scored 14 of the second quarter's final 20 points. Roger Mason's three-pointer had San Antonio ahead by a 48-42 score at the break.

After Keith Bogans drained a three to open the second half and give the Spurs a nine-point lead, Nenad Krstic scored seven consecutive points to pull the Thunder within two.

From there, neither team held more than a four-point edge for the remainder of the third quarter, and San Antonio was in front 68-67 heading to the fourth.

The teams played close for a majority of the fourth quarter, and Jefferson's three-point play with just under four minutes left put the Spurs ahead by a point, 86-85.

Game Notes

The Thunder are 17-12 on the road, while San Antonio is 20-10 at home...The Spurs lead the season series, 2-1...Tony Parker returned from a hip injury for the Spurs and scored four points in nearly 26 minutes...Westbrook scored 13 points in the fourth quarter.

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<< Thunder-Spurs, Box
OKLAHOMA CITY (87)Durant 7-19 6-6 21, Green 8-16 2-3 19, Krstic 3-10 2-3 8, Westbrook 6-21 5-9 17, Sefolosha 5-8 1-2 12, Harden 3-7 0-0 8, Maynor 1-2 0-1 2, Mullens 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-83 16-24 87.SAN ANTONIO (95)Bogans 3-6 1-2 9, Duncan 6-11 7-8

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Football Betting Sportsbook Accepts Credit Cards

Michael Vick is back, Brett Favre isn't and the NFC East remains the best division in the NFC, maybe in all of football.

As players start to gather for the start of another season, some things change and some stay the same in the world of the NFL.

Bet 2010 Super Bowl Odds

The NFC East has been the dominant division in the National Conference for a while, despite limited playoff success, save for the New York Giants surprise Super Bowl win two seasons ago.

Hell, there's a generation of kids in Texas who have never seen the Cowboys win a playoff game (last win was in 1996).

But collectively, the Giants, Eagles, Cowboys and Redskins (well, maybe not so much the Redskins) are as good as a division gets in an NFC conference that has struggled to stay competitive with the AFC side.

Sports bettors have both acknowledged the NFC East's dominance, as one glance at the NFL future odds menu will show.

Looking over the NFL betting odds at online sports book MySportsbook.com we see the top three teams listed to win the NFC Championship are all from the NFC East:

Dallas Cowboys - 7 - 1

Philadelphia Eagles - 13 - 2

New York Giants - 9 - 2

Slotting in behind these three are two teams from the NFC North: the Minnesota Vikings (15-2) and the Chicago Bears (10-1).

Again, despite the lack of recent playoff success, the Dallas Cowboys are popular with the sports betting community, as they hold 14% of all the money wagered on who will win the NFC Championship.

So far, the New York Giants are the bettors' favorite to represent their conference in the Super Bowl, as they have 24% of the overall NFC Championship betting volume.

And what about the Philadelphia Eagles? For the most part, the Eagles had a very productive offseason, the kind that could bring them back to the top.

They had a good draft adding the likes of WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.

Unfortunately, the team received a blow when long-time defensive coordinator Jim Johnson passed away on Tuesday.

But this team will make a real run at the division title this year. Going into the regular season, Philly is listed at +240 to win the division.

Last season the Eagles were 9-6-1 SU and 10-6 ATS.

Teams from the NFC East will play teams from the AFC West in the regular season and the Eagles haven't really been a good bet in the last 20 games against the likes of San Diego, Oakland, K.C. and Denver, only going 8-12 ATS.

Two seasons removed from that Super Bowl title, the New York Giants see themselves listed as the odds-on favorite in NFC East championship futures at +162.

Plaxico Burress is gone and with him all the bad publicity surrounding the gun in the sweatpants incident, but can they replace him in the offense?

Last season the Giants were a very reliable bet going 12-4 ATS.

In the Giants' last 20 games against fellow teams from the NFC East; they are 13-7 ATS.

Dallas is listed at +240 to win the division.

Dallas went 9-7 SU and 7-9 ATS last season and with the amount of talent the Cowboys have, a similar performance won't do.

The Cowboys have been atrocious against divisional rivals, going 6-14 ATS in their last 20.

The Washington Redskins are longshots to win the division at +550.

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