Hawks edge Pistons in OT

Basketball Betting Lines

01/27/2012 - Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson scored 30 points, including a game-tying three-pointer in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter, to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 107-101 overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Marvin Williams added 22 points and eight rebounds, while Josh Smith had 19 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and three blocks in the Hawks' third win in four games.

Greg Monroe paced the Pistons with 22 points and 11 boards in Detroit's 13th loss in its last 15 games. Brandon Knight contributed 20 points and a career- high eight assists, and Jason Maxiell scored a season-high 19 points off the bench in defeat.

Atlanta trailed 68-63 entering the fourth quarter, but opened the frame with a 7-2 swing to knot the game at 70.

The Pistons, though, scored the next eight points to jump ahead again.

Detroit held at least a three-point lead over the next seven minutes until a pair of Austin Daye free throws put the Pistons up 85-76 with 1:47 to play.

After the teams traded buckets, Williams sank a shot from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to three with 33.5 seconds left on the clock.

The Pistons' Rodney Stuckey then had the ball roll out of bounds off his arm after a scramble on the ground, giving the ball back to the Hawks.

Johnson took the ball and set up on the top of the key on Atlanta's ensuing possession. He then turned his back to the net before throwing up a turnaround jumper that dropped into the net for the game-tying shot with 1.9 seconds left.

Knight's three-pointer at the buzzer bounced wide high off the glass to force overtime.

The extra period belonged entirely to the Hawks, as Atlanta opened overtime with a 12-2 run capped by back-to-back treys by Williams and Smith to jump out to a 99-89 lead.

Detroit could not get any closer than six points from there and the Hawks made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off a late push by the Pistons.

Detroit made just 6-of-23 shots from the floor in the first quarter, but held a 17-15 lead as the Hawks committed nine turnovers in the opening frame.

The Pistons never trailed in the second quarter and after five consecutive points by Williams tied the game at 29, Detroit closed out the half on a 17-6 run to take a 46-35 lead into the break.

Atlanta battled back with a 17-6 run to get within one, 56-55, with 4:00 to play in the third, but Detroit scored 12 of the next 20 points and took a 68-63 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Atlanta guard Jeff Teague left the game late in the third quarter after rolling his ankle on a shot attempt...Atlanta held a 49-44 advantage on the glass...Detroit finished the game shooting 40.9 percent, while Atlanta shot 48.8 percent.

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MySportsbook.com and Kentucky Derby Offer Bonuses
The 2008 Kentucky Derby has announced a $1-million bonus for this weekend’s 134th ‘Run for the Roses’ and MySportsbook.com is doing the same.

Well, not quite $1 million, but MySportsbook.com is offering a 75% rebate for Kentucky Derby lines. Check out the exclusive horse racing bonus for all the details.

According to MySportsbook.com, the favorites for Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky are: Curlin (+250); Street Sense (+500); Scat Daddy (+700); Circular Quay (+750); and Nobiz Like Shobiz (+800).

Derby organizers announced this week that there will be a $1-million bonus at the 2007 Kentucky Derby odds if the first-place horse wins by more than 6 1/2 lengths – the margin of Barbaro's victory last year. The bonus would be divided Saturday among the winning trainer, jockey, owner and a charity, with each receiving 25 percent. The designated charity is the Barbaro Memorial Fund.

''It's certainly creative, it's certainly fun and it has something for the horsemen, which we always want to embrace,'' Churchill Downs president and chief executive Robert Evans said at a news conference. ''What's really cool is it will force us to remember Barbaro.''
    
Meanwhile, the Derby favorite – Curlin – is going against the odds this year. It's been 125 years since Apollo won after skipping his 2-year-old season, and not since Regret in 1915 has such a lightly seasoned horse worn the blanket of red roses.

Arkansas Derby winner Curlin – unbeaten in three career races – tries to overcome both those obstacles in Saturday's 133rd Derby.

''We're not running against history,'' trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday. ''We're running against who they load up.''

Six other horses have run in the Derby without benefit of 2-year-old races and with three or fewer starts. The best any of them managed was a sixth-place finish by Showing Up last year.
   
Asmussen dismissed suggestions that Curlin's lack of racing experience could keep him from the winner's circle.

”He exudes confidence and he's got a great presence about him,'' the trainer said. ''I feel great about the position we're in. He's not worried about anything, why should you be?''
   
The Kentucky Derby is at 4:04 p.m., ET Saturday.

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