Bulls ride Rose in fourth to down Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

02/02/2012 - New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Derrick Rose scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls held on to take down the New York Knicks, 105-102.

Carmelo Anthony had an opportunity to tie the game at the final buzzer, but his long three-point try from the right wing was way off the mark.

Rose also added 13 assists while Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver netted 16 points apiece for the Bulls, who rebounded after Wednesday's lopsided loss in Philadelphia. They moved to 2-2 on their nine-game road trip.

Amare Stoudemire had 34 points and 11 rebounds while Anthony added 26 points and six boards for New York, which has lost 10 of its last 12 games.

Rose carried the Bulls early in the fourth, scoring the first seven points and 14 of the first 18 for Chicago as the visitors took a 95-88 lead midway through the final stanza.

But the Knicks did a stellar job of defending Rose late as the reigning NBA MVP was limited to just a point in the final 5:53 of game action.

An 8-2 spurt, capped by Landry Fields' layup, pulled the Knicks within a point, 101-100, with 23.4 seconds remaining.

Korver nailed a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game. Following a New York timeout, Stoudemire had a wide-open look to tie it from the top of the arc, but his shot clanked off the side of the rim.

Taj Gibson made 1-of-2 from the line to make it 104-100 with 9.3 to go, but Anthony was fouled with 6.3 remaining. He made both foul shots to make it 104-102.

Rose, who came in 35-of-37 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter this season, made 1-of-2 from the line to keep New York's hopes alive, but Anthony's desperation trey at the buzzer wasn't close.

Chicago shot 61.9 percent in the opening quarter and took a 29-25 lead into the second. Korver scored nine points to pace the Bulls.

The Bulls closed the opening half on an 11-4 run, taking a 55-44 advantage into the break. Rose nearly had a double-double by halftime with 10 points and nine assists while Stoudemire kept the Knicks within shouting distance by posting 18 first-half points.

The Knicks rallied in the third quarter, connecting on 10 of their first 11 shots as they pulled within 66-64 midway through the stanza. The Bulls took a 77-75 advantage into the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Bulls moved to 10-5 outside the United Center...The Bulls were without forward Luol Deng (wrist) and guard Richard Hamilton (groin/thigh)...New York had just six points from its bench, all by Toney Douglas...Joakim Noah had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bulls.

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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.