Cavs win division, continue home dominance of Pacers

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James nearly had his second straight triple-double, finishing with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers captured their second straight Central Division title with a 99-94 win over the Indiana Pacers.

James, who is now three points shy of 15,000 for his career, added three steals and two blocks for the Cavs, who have won five straight to capture back-to-back division titles for the first time in franchise history.

Antawn Jamison added 17 points and nine rebounds, while J.J. Hickson and Anderson Varejao each had 13 in the victory, Cleveland's 24th in 28 games.

Roy Hibbert had 20 points lead the Pacers, who lost their 10th straight game in Cleveland and ninth straight on the road overall. Troy Murphy provided 19 points and 15 rebounds, and A.J. Price had 14 points in defeat.

Indiana played without Danny Granger, who suffered an upper cheek injury after being elbowed in a game on Tuesday. T.J. Ford (groin) also sat out.

Indiana trailed by 16 heading to the fourth but made a furious rally.

Brandon Rush capped a quick 8-0 burst in the opening moments with a short jumper to trim the deficit to 83-73, and a Murphy triple with 7:13 to go had the visitors within 87-82.

The Pacers got as close as one on an Earl Watson jumper with just under five minutes to go before James took over.

Rush went up for a go-ahead layup, but the reigning NBA MVP swatted the ball away against the backboard, which led to a Varejao layup. Varejao then stole the ball away and lofted up an alley-oop pass for James, who pulled off a reverse dunk amid three defenders.

A James fadeaway jumper pushed the Cavs' lead to 95-87 with 2 1/2 minutes left, and the Pacers never got within one possession down the stretch.

The Cavaliers grabbed a 30-25 lead after one quarter, but the Pacers clawed back to trail only by two, 50-48, at halftime.

James and the Cavs got hot early in the third quarter, helping the home team create some separation. Cleveland scored the first nine points of the frame, and James capped the spurt with a layup and two free throws for a 59-48 advantage.

James later hit consecutive jumpers -- one from three-point range -- for a 66-50 lead 4 1/2 minutes into the quarter, and he drilled another three moments later for a 17-point cushion.

Cleveland carried an 81-65 edge into the fourth.

Game Notes

The Pacers are 7-30 on the road this year, while the Cavs are a league-best 30-4 at home...Cleveland has won the last four meetings with Indiana and 13 of the last 14...James has four triple-doubles this season, while no other player in the league has more than one...Rush finished with 13 points, and Dahntay Jones had 10 for Indiana.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.