Iguodala, Sixers cool off Suns

Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2007 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Andre Iguodala finished with 24 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, as the Philadelphia 76ers kept Phoenix from an historic feat with a 99-94 win at the Wachovia Center.

Willie Green scored 20 points and gathered six rebounds while Kyle Korver donated 16 points for the Sixers, who have won the first two installments of a six-game homestand.

Amare Stoudemire had 31 points and 13 boards for the Suns, who were looking to become the first team ever to sweep its interconference road schedule (14-1). Regardless, Phoenix finished interconference road play with the highest winning percentage all-time. Steve Nash ended with 23 points and nine assists, and Raja Bell scored 13 against his old team.

Phoenix was playing from behind all game and trailed 80-69 with 9:45 left following a Korver slam, but rebounded with a 12-2 run to make things interesting down the stretch. Stoudemire had five points over that span, and a Nash jumper brought the road team within one with 5:40 on the clock.

A Leandro Barbosa three moments later knotted the contest at 84-84, but the Sixers had an answer. Andre Miller followed with a jumper to give the lead back to Philly, and Korver pushed the margin to four with a pair of free throws.

Barbosa responded with another three at the other end of the floor, only to see Iguodala counter immediately with a trey from the top of the arc to make it 91-87.

Then, after a Phoenix turnover, Samuel Dalembert hit a fadeaway with 28 ticks on the clock. The Sixers converted all six of their free-throw tries from there to seal the win.

Philadelphia quieted any thought of a Phoenix rout early, as it jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Miller scored the first four points of the charge, which Steven Hunter capped with a pair of free throws. The Sixers then finished the quarter with a 9-0 burst to assume a 35-23 lead.

The Suns cut their deficit to 49-44 at intermission and moved within one late in the third following five straight points by Nash. The Sixers again finished the quarter strong, though, scoring the last eight points to go up 73-64.

Game Notes

Phoenix's Shawn Marion missed his first game of the season with a left quadricep and right hand contusion... The Suns never led in this game...Phoenix had won five straight in the series...The 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers held the NBA's best interconference road winning percentage (11-1, .916) prior to the Suns' accomplishments this year.

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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

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