12/03/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who have won seven of 10. Ron Artest contributed a 19-point effort, while Carl Landry posted 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Zach Randolph had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost six of seven. Al Thornton added 24 points and nine boards, while Marcus Camby posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Baron Davis scored 13 points and dished out nine assists in the loss.
Clinging to a one-point lead after three quarters, Houston began the fourth on a 6-0 run to take a seven-point advantage. Steve Novak made it a four-point game on a jumper for LA with 7 1/2 minutes left, but the Rockets surged to an eight-point advantage behind Artest's layup and two free throws.
Yao's jumper from close range gave Houston a 97-89 lead with 3:06 left, and Landry followed with a couple free throws with 1:27 to go, increasing the lead to 10. The Rockets were able to hold on from there.
Yao scored 10 points in the first quarter, and the Rockets held a 27-19 advantage after the opening period.
Jason Hart's free throw pulled the Clippers to within four at 43-39, but the Rockets extended their lead to seven before halftime, 53-46.
Houston went up by as many as 15 on Yao's jumper with 10 minutes left in the third, but the Clippers climbed back into it. LA started with a 9-0 run after giving up the jumper to make it 61-55.
Davis got the Clips to within one headed into the fourth, hitting a three- pointer with just four seconds left to make it 77-76.
Game Notes
LA rookie Eric Gordon provided 10 points...Yao was 12-of-13 from the free throw line...Houston leads the season series, 2-0...Seven of the Clippers' next nine games are on the road.
<< Ming fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles
Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei
<< No. 15 Wake Forest routs Indiana
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Johnson scored 21 points and
grabbed five rebounds, leading the 15th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons to an
83-58 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Johnson shot
<< Smith returns for Hawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had
missed the previous 12 games due to a high left ankle sprain, returned to
action by starting Wednesday's 105-95 win against Memphis.
Smith played just 11 min
<< Backstrom, power play fuel Wild win over Blues
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a career-worst performance in his
last outing, Niklas Backstrom turned aside all 22 shots he faced to record his
third shutout of the season, as the Minnesota Wild blanked the St. Louis
Blues,
BC Lions release Clermont >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions released slotback
Jason Clermont Wednesday night.
A first-round draft pick by the Lions in 2002, Clermont has 428 career catches
for 5,917 yards, placing him sixth on the club'
Cards pick up Greene from Padres >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly
acquired shortstop Khalil Greene from the San Diego Padres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two minor league relievers will be
heading the other way i
Spurs battle Nuggets at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs arrive in the Rocky Mountains
Thursday to take on the streaking Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
The Spurs dropped their second straight game on Tuesday in San Antonio when
Detroit's Al
Suns attempt to end skid in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will try to stop a season-high three-game
losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at
American Airlines Center.
The Suns dropped their third in a row after Wednesday's
The NFL preseason is approaching. Time for players, coaches and teams to turn over a new leaf. General managers have hired some new coaches, while coaches have added some offensive and defensive assistants to try and improve things. Here’s a look at some changes to look for in the preseason.
New York Jets: The Jets were one of the surprise teams in the NFL last season, making the playoffs under hard-driving first-year coach Eric Mangini. Mangini rebuilt the offensive line with rookies D'Brickashaw Ferguson (the No. 4 pick in the 2007 Draft) and Ohio State center (the 29th pick in the first round). This season he upgraded the defense with rookie linebacker David Harris (Michigan) while the secondary picked up a much needed top-notch corner in Pitt CB Darrelle Revis (No. 14 overall).
The Jets have added balance to the offense for QB Chad Pennington with RB Thomas Jones, essentially stolen from the Bears. He will upgrade a New York ground game that was 20th in rushing with a weak 3.5 yards per carry. They have their first true feature back since Curtis Martin. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer prefers ball control, like his father Marty. In preseason, behind Pennington you’ll see second-year QB Kellen Clemens and mobile newcomer QB Marques Tuiasosopo.
Jacksonville Jaguars: The heat is on Jack Del Rio in Jacksonville as the Jaguars flopped last season despite a ton of talent. Keep in mind that under Del Rio the Jaguars have been outstanding in preseason with a 12-4 SU, 11-5 ATS August mark. Their defense is loaded, it’s the offense that has been stuck in first gear the last few years.
Enter a new offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, the former Boise State and Arizona State pass-happy coach. He will try and upgrade a passing game that ranked 24th last season. Del Rio has criticized wide receivers and Matt Jones this summer, both of whom have battled injuries. It will be interesting to watch the “new” Jaguars passing game in preseason.
Arizona Cardinals: Word out of Arizona is that the players like new coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was the Steelers offensive coordinator last year. We think of Arizona as all-passing because their running game has been awful of late because of a poor offensive line. However, keep an eye on the running game in preseason as they’ve made a lot of changes.
The new coach brings in Russ Grimm to coach the offensive line (Grimm did a marvelous job building the Steelers line). They took Penn State OT Levi Jones in the first round and signed two offensive linemen, Mike Gandy and Al Johnson, to provide depth. Reggie Wells was moved from right tackle to left guard and they want more speed out of the offensive line for pulling and traps, a Pittsburgh staple under Bill Cowher.
Atlanta Falcons: While all the attention has been focused on QB Mike Vick’s off-field problems, new coach Bobby Petrino is revamping the Falcons from an all-running team to a more balanced one. Petrino likes the experience of backup QB Joey Harrington and he has veteran backup Chris Redman, who used to play for Petrino at Louisville and knows his offenses better than anyone. Petrino wants Vick to be more of a pocket passer.
The addition of FB Ovie Mughelli is a sign Petrino wants a power rushing attack behind a physical fullback and newcomer WR Joe Horn should upgrade what was a below average wideout corps. Petrino is changing their old zone-blocking scheme to a more traditional in-line blocking scheme and the offensive line is bigger. Rookie DE Jamaal Anderson was grabbed in the first round and the secondary got younger with former Auburn cornerback David Irons, who the Falcons think was a steal as a sixth-round pick.
Cleveland Browns: The 2007 Browns look like a double-edged sword. There was the excitement of the offseason, trading for RB Jamel Lewis, upgrading the offensive line with Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas (the No. 2 pick in the draft) and free agent LG Eric Steinbach, then trading for Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn when he fell to No. 22. GM Phil Savage and head coach Romeo Crennel feel they have a talented, balanced offense with these new pieces, plus TE >Kellen Winslow and WR Braylon Edwards.
However, were these moves made in desperation? And were they foolish ones? The Browns gave up their 2008 first-round pick for Quinn and we all know QBs take time to develop. And even first-round QBs can be busts (Joey Harrington, Akili Smith). We also don’t know if the offensive line is that much improved (31st in rushing in 2007) and they did nothing to improve a defense that was awful against the run (142 yds pg allowed).
The Browns have a new offensive coordinator in Rob Chudzinski. This is a young offense and Quinn looked tentative, indecisive and inaccurate early in camp. Crennel will play Charlie Frye, Quinn and Derek Anderson in preseason. And there is a mixed bag for rookie QBs receiving significant starts: Tim Couch (14), Kerry Collins (13), Ben Roethlisberger (13), Vince Young (13), Joey Harrington (12), Matt Leinart (11) and Kyle Boller (nine). While all the focus will be on the Browns new-look offense, I’m more concerned with the defense.
Carolina Panthers: Coach Jon Fox loves the ground game, but Carolina has made some interesting changes for 2007. Fox fired offensive coordinator Dan Henning and brings in Jeff Davidson to run the offense. Davidson has brought in zone-blocking schemes to the Panther offense, a dramatic change for a system that's been built around a power-running style.
In zone-blocking, offensive linemen are responsible for blocking any defender who appears in their zone, instead of focusing on one defender. The Broncos and Falcons have had success with the system, which features smaller, more athletic offensive linemen and can create running lanes on the inside and outside. Keep an eye in preseason on how Carolina adjusts as it will take time to learn the system. Fox has been one of the top coaches in preseason, with a 15-5 SU, 12-7-1 ATS August record.
Dallas Cowboys: WR Terrell Owens is still here, but QB Drew Bledsoe and Bill Parcells are gone. New head coach Wade Phillips takes over, replacing Parcells. He ran the Chargers defense last season. Phillips was chosen by teary-eyed owner Jerry Jones partly because he is one of the best 3-4 coaches in football and the Cowboys have loaded up on players for that scheme.
Remember that Phillips was blitz-happy with the Chargers last season and early reports out of the Dallas camp have mentioned how the Cowboys have been blitzing a lot, a departure from Parcells. The theme of the 2007 Dallas defense appears to be one of attack.
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