Celtics head north of the border to face Raptors

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics may have seen their longest winning streak of the season come to a halt on Thursday. But, a trip north of the border to face the Toronto Raptors could get them back on track.

Boston saw its five-game winning streak stopped on Thursday, as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Celtics, 88-87, in overtime at TD Garden.

Ray Allen paced Boston with 22 points and All-Star reserve Paul Pierce added 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Garnett posted 12 points and 12 boards, but shot just 2-of-13 from the floor after halftime.

The Celtics failed to get a quality attempt off at the end of the fourth quarter, and missed four shots in the final 70 seconds of overtime.

At the end of regulation, Pierce dribbled down the final seconds and was hounded outside the arc before passing to Mickael Pietrus with two seconds left. Pietrus' off-balanced 31-footer was nowhere close to the rim as the buzzer sounded.

"I shouldn't have picked up my dribble. It kind of broke up the play when I picked up my dribble," Pierce admitted.

Pierce's three actually gave Boston the lead, 87-86, with 1:51 left in the extra session, but the Celtics went cold from there. Pierce had a chance to give Boston the lead late but his forced 18-footer drew iron and Allen's put- back was blocked by Pau Gasol.

"I was in the perfect situation and [Gasol] came out of nowhere," Allen said.

The Celtics should be able to get back on track tonight as they face a Raptors team that has lost three straight games after a 105-99 setback to the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday.

DeMar DeRozan paced the Raptors with 25 points, including 4-of-6 three-point shooting. James Johnson contributed 15 points and Kleiza and Leandro Barbosa added 12 and 11, respectively, off the bench for Toronto, which lost for the fifth time in six tries overall and fell to 3-7 at home this season.

"They've got the No. 1 bench in the NBA in scoring. They played hard," said Johnson. "They came with a lot of energy."

Toronto continues to play without injured star Andrea Bargnani, who is sidelined with a strained left calf.

Boston beat the Raptors by 36 points last Wednesday and has topped them five straight times and in 13 of the last 14 meetings. The Celtics have also had success in Toronto, where they've won seven of eight and eight of their last 11.

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NCAA Football Betting

Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)

"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."

Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins

There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.

Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins

Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.

USC Trojans - 10.5 wins

A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.

Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy

Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.

"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."

Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1

The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.

Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1

If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.

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