Mobley's late three lifts Clippers over Nets

Basketball Betting Lines

01/26/2007 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cuttino Mobley hit a three with .6 seconds to play, as the Los Angeles Clippers bested the New Jersey Nets, 102-101, at the Staples Center.

Elton Brand and Corey Maggette each netted 18 while Mobley finished with 17 points for the Clippers, who have won four in a row. Brand grabbed eight rebounds while Maggette pulled down six boards.

Vince Carter scored 33 points and Bostjan Nachbar had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Nets, who have lost three straight games, all by one point. For the third straight contest New Jersey failed to hold on to a lead in the final seconds.

The Nets drew within two on a number of occasions until they tied the score, 97-97, on a pair of Jason Collins' free throws with 2:28 on the clock.

Nachbar's three with 1:32 gave New Jersey its first lead since 10-8.

With the Nets ahead 101-99 the Clippers had the ball with 8.7 ticks left but had missed their previous nine shots. Sam Cassell took the inbounds pass and drove in to the paint. The Nets defense collapsed, leaving Mobley open and he drained the game-winner.

Carter's tip-in rimmed out and his put-back was too late.

The Clippers led 31-24 after the opening 12 minutes of play.

Los Angeles opened the second quarter by scoring nine of the first 12 points, capped by five straight points from Tim Thomas, for a 40-27 lead.

Jason Kidd's finger-roll narrowed the gap to 49-38, but the Clippers closed the stanza with an 8-2 spurt, ending with a pair of Maggette free throws with .8 seconds remaining.

A pair of Mobley free throws gave the Clippers an 18-point lead, their biggest of the game, but the Nets responded with a 13-5 rally, including eight points from Carter, cutting the deficit to 67-57.

Trailing 81-70 heading into the final frame, the Nets opened the period with a 20-11 run, highlighted by a pair of treys from Nachbar, pulling New Jersey within 92-90 with 5 1/2 minutes to play.

Game Notes

The Nets are 0-8 on the road against Western Conference teams...New Jersey is 6-14 in games decided by six points or less...Kidd finished with 12 points, eight assists and five rebounds...Cassell had 15 points and 10 assists while Thomas netted 12 and pulled down five boards...The Nets shot 50 percent from the field, while the Clippers connected on 44 percent of their shots from the floor.

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Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.