Jefferson, Celtics down Knicks

Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2007 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson poured in 26 points with nine rebounds and Paul Pierce added 24 points as Boston jumped out to a large halftime lead then held on for dear life in a 102-94 victory over the New York Knicks at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Gerald Green donated 21 points and Brian Scalabrine compiled 14 points for the Celtics, who won back-to-back games for the first time since a five-game streak from December 9-16.

Quentin Richardson scored 24 points and pulled down eight rebounds, Stephon Marbury totaled 23 points and dished out six assists, while Jared Jeffries and Eddy Curry added 16 points apiece in the loss. The Knicks have alternated wins and losses in their last 10 games and lost for the fourth straight time on the road.

The game looked like a Celtics rout early, as Boston opened a 27-19 lead after one stanza then added to its advantage in the second. A 10-0 stretch pushed the lead to 48-26 with 3:55 on the clock. Four different player scored with Scalabrine's jumper capping the stretch.

Boston led 57-37 at the break.

The Knicks came storming back in the third period, going on a 13-1 run to cut the deficit to 58-50. Boston missed its first four shots of the second half and Channing Frye's turnaround ended the spurt.

Jefferson made the Celtics' first field goal of the half with 7:12 on the clock. The Knicks drew even closer at 65-62 after Richardson drained a three- pointer with 4:43 to play then the guard knocked down another to bring the Knicks within one at 74-73.

New York eventually took an 81-79 lead on Marbury's three with 9:18 on the fourth quarter clock, but Green scored seven straight points during a key stretch in the fourth to turn an 88-87 deficit into a 94-88 edge with 3:01 left.

The Knicks didn't threaten from there.

Game Notes

Boston buried 10-of-19 from beyond the arc...The game featured zero ties and four lead changes...Steve Francis (knee) and David Lee (ankle) continue to miss time for the Knicks...Boston won the season series, 3-1...The loss snapped a brief two-game winning streak for the Knicks in Boston...Attendance wa

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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