Thunder close out trip in Portland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oklahoma City Thunder hope to finish off a three-game road trip in perfect fashion on Tuesday when they meet a Portland Trail Blazers club minus All-Star Brandon Roy at the Rose Garden.

The Thunder improved to 2-0 on their trek Saturday with a 104-95 win over the Golden State Warriors in Oakland. Kevin Durant had 29 points and eight rebounds in that one.

Russell Westbrook had an incredible all-around performance with 21 points, 10 assists, a career-best eight steals and seven rebounds. Jeff Green scored 18 for the Thunder, who have won five in a row. The franchise hasn't won six straight since a nine-game run from Nov. 5-19, 2004, when they toiled in Seattle.

"Everybody knows it's coming," Durant said of Westbrook's possible quadruple- double in the future. "It's nothing new to us. We all followed his lead tonight."

There have been only four quadruple-doubles in NBA history, with San Antonio's David Robinson securing the last one when he netted 34 points along with 10 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 blocks against Detroit on Feb. 17, 1994.

Durant, meanwhile, has now scored at least 25 points in 24 consecutive games, the longest such scoring run since Allen Iverson turned the trick 27 straight times in the 2000-01 season.

The Blazers, meanwhile, were trounced in their last outing, a 99-82 setback to the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers.

Ron Artest poured in 21 points and Lamar Odom contributed 10 points and tied a career-best with 22 rebounds in that one, as the Lakers overcame the absence of Kobe Bryant to win in Portland for the first time in nearly five years with a 99-82 triumph over the short-handed Trail Blazers.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points for Portland, which lost for the fifth time in eight contests. Andre Miller added 14 points and Jerryd Bayless 13 in defeat.

"They're a good defense. You've got length with Odom and [Pau] Gasol and [Ron] Artest," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "We couldn't get to the paint and our shots didn't fall. If your shots aren't falling and you're not getting anything easy, no second opportunities, it's going to be a tough night."

Before the game, the Blazers announced Roy will be sidelined through the All- Star break due to a strained right hamstring. Roy saw limited action in a January 20 game at Philadelphia, but hasn't played since. An All-Star, Roy was replaced on the Western Conference team by LA Clippers center Chris Kaman on Monday.

Portland has won four straight over the Thunder, including a 83-74 win in Oklahoma City on Nov. 1.

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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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