Evans, Cousins lead Kings past Thunder

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2012 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyreke Evans scored 22 points, DeMarcus Cousins added 19 and the Kings made enough free throws down the stretch to take down the Thunder, 106-101.

Marcus Thornton finished with 15 points, including a pair of three-pointers during a late 18-4 run that put Sacramento on top for good.

The Kings scored 28 points off 23 turnovers to win for the fourth time in five games.

Russell Westbrook netted 33 points, Kevin Durant chipped in 27 to go with eight rebounds and Serge Ibaka blocked 10 shots for Oklahoma City, which fell to 2-2 on its five-game road trip.

Daequan Cook drained a three-pointer to put the Thunder on top, 95-87, with 5:56 remaining, and the visitors only made three field goals the rest of the way.

A Thornton three-pointer tied things at 97 with 2:07 to play, and Cousins went 1-for-2 at the foul line after grabbing an offensive rebound the next time down.

Westbrook hit a pullup jumper for a 99-98 advantage, but turned it over two of the next three possessions -- the first coming when he stepped on the sideline after Donte Greene hit a pair of free throws.

Evans added another free throw with 39.2 seconds showing, and following Durant's missed three, Cousins essentially put the game away with two more from the stripe.

The Kings led 23-19 heading to the second quarter, led 57-55 at halftime and trailed 78-76 entering the final stanza. There were nine ties and nine lead changes in the first three frames.

Game Notes

The Kings outscored the Thunder in the paint, 60-34...The Kings, who snapped a six-game slide against the Thunder, improved to 5-0 when scoring over 100 points...Jason Thompson posted 11 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, which will host the Suns on Saturday...Cousins was one rebound shy of his fourth straight double-double...James Harden logged 17 points for Oklahoma City, which visits the Jazz on Friday.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.


Marlins could start season without No. 2 starter Johnson

JUPITER, Fla. -- The Foorida Marlins are preparing for the likelihood that right-hander
Josh Johnson won't be ready when the season starts April 2.

Grapefruit League action starts Wednesday, but Johnson, penciled in as the No. 2 starter, hasn't even thrown off a mound at full speed since September. He's experienced some soreness in his right forearm.

MySportsbook.com have the Marlins listed with baseball betting lines at +800 to win the NL East this season .

''You guys know the math. If he's not on the hill then he becomes an opening day roster issue,'' manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. ''We're borderline now.''

Johnson, who finished 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA in 2007, was supposed to throw on flat ground Saturday. That was canceled when he woke up with pain.

He played catch on Wednesday with no pain but felt discomfort in a throwing session on Thursday. He's expected to try again Sunday.

''Like we always said from the very beginning, we're going to take it easy on him,'' Gonzalez said. ''He didn't feel right, so we shut him down. We're going to take it back to step one and see where we're at.''

Among the candidates to take Johnson's spot in the rotation are left-hander Chris George and right-handers Yusmeiro Petit and Jose Garcia.

Right-hander Sergio Mitre, who missed most of last season with arm and shoulder problems, also is behind.

With Johnson's status doubtful, Gonzalez said right-hander Ricky Nolasco will stay in the rotation and no longer will be considered a candidate for closer.

Additional basbeall odds can be found at: www.MySportsbook.com

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