Harris' big night helps Nets upend Detroit in Iverson's debut

Basketball Betting Lines

11/07/2008 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Harris tallied a career-high 38 points to lead New Jersey past Detroit, 103-96, spoiling the debut of Allen Iverson in a Pistons uniform.

Iverson, who had 24 points and six assists in defeat, was acquired Monday from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb. Iverson hadn't suited up for the Pistons, missing two games since the trade was finalized, because Billups hadn't completed a physical for his new team.

Josh Boone had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who snapped a two-game skid. Vince Carter also had 18 points and added seven assists, while Yi Jianlian had 12 points and nine boards in the win.

Richard Hamilton totaled 22 points for the Pistons, who lost for the first time this season to fall to 4-1. Tayshaun Prince ended with 19 points and 11 boards and Rasheed Wallace had 11 and seven.

A pair of free throws from Rodney Stuckey drew the Pistons within a point, 78-77. However, New Jersey got four points, two from Boone and two from Harris, to increase its lead to 82-77 with 8:15 left in the game.

Iverson interjected with a jumper, but Yi nailed a three-pointer, Boone connected on a putback dunk and Carter hit a free throw to up the Nets' lead to 88-79 with 6:11 left in regulation.

An Iverson fadeaway and a 2-of-2 performance from Stuckey at the stripe made it a five-point game, but a basket each from Carter and Jarvis Hayes made it 92-83, Nets, with a little under three minutes left.

As the clock ran under one minute, a Hamilton three brought the visitors within four points, but Harris responded with a layup and was fouled. He missed the free throw, but grabbed his own rebound and was fouled by Stuckey. Harris made both tries to open a 102-94 lead with 18 seconds left.

The Nets held on down the stretch to secure the win.

The Pistons led 27-14 after the first quarter, but the Nets woke up to cut their deficit to 44-39 at the half.

The teams traded baskets and the lead before eight points from Harris, all coming at the foul line, gave the home team a 70-62 lead with about three minutes left in the third stanza.

The Pistons answered by closing out the third on an 8-2 run to pull within 72-70 heading into the final 12 minutes of play.

Game Notes

Harris went 20-of-24 from the foul line...The Nets hit 3-of-13 (23 percent) from behind the arc. The Pistons were 10-of-25 from three-point range...Detroit won all three meetings with New Jersey last season and had won seven straight in the series.

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How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.

A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.