Grizzlies, Nets collide in Memphis

Basketball Betting Lines

03/08/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies will attempt to put their current home woes behind in this evening's clash with a New Jersey Nets squad that enters FedEx Forum off a rare positive result.

Memphis has lost eight consecutive contests as the home team since besting the defending world champion Los Angeles Lakers on February 1. The Grizzlies have not dropped nine in a row in their own building since a club-record 11-game losing streak from February 16-March 31, 1996, when the franchise was then located in Vancouver.

The Grizzlies had put together back-to-back road wins over New Orleans and Chicago prior to Saturday's home test with San Antonio, but couldn't keep up with the Spurs in a 102-92 defeat.

"We have played a different caliber of teams away than we have at home," Memphis head coach Lionel Hollins said of his team's drought at FedEx Forum. "We just haven't been able to raise our caliber of play. We execute better on the road. We make a better effort and better decisions on the road."

Memphis had drawn within 89-83 on an O.J. Mayo basket midway through the fourth quarter, but the Spurs countered with a 9-2 burst to take a 13-point lead and the Grizzlies never got the deficit closer than eight the rest of the way. Mayo ended with 23 points in the loss, with Marc Gasol amassing 17 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis.

The Grizzlies, four games back of Portland for the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference, will try to bounce back against a Nets team that owns an NBA-worst 7-55 record and is a dismal 4-27 on the road. However, New Jersey has actually won its last three times as the visitor and is fresh off Saturday's 113-93 triumph over the rival New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

The Nets trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half but dominated the Knicks over the remainder of the game in halting a three-game skid. An ability to shoot from long range made the comeback possible, as New Jersey sank 14- of-24 three-point attempts on the evening.

Devin Harris made 13-of-21 overall shots for 31 points to pace the Nets, while Courtney Lee returned from a three-game absence due to a sprained ankle and delivered 25 points.

"The second team was huge for us," said Harris. "We got off to a very lethargic start. Those guys came in a did a great job getting us back in the game."

Brook Lopez finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for New Jersey, which will be aiming for its first four-game road winning streak since November 26- December 6, 2009.

Saturday's win kicked off a five-game trek for the Nets, with matchups at Dallas, Oklahoma City and Houston upcoming. The team may not have forward Yi Jianlian for any of those tests, however, after the seven-footer suffered a sprained left ankle in the first quarter against the Knicks.

New Jersey has prevailed in two of its last three visits to FedEx Forum but was a 104-94 loser to the Grizzlies when these teams squared off in the Garden State on February 21. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 29 points in that one, with Mayo coming through with 24 points and seven assists.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.