Pistons reach East finals for sixth straight year

Basketball Betting Lines

05/13/2008 - Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Richard Hamilton scored 31 points, and Tayshaun Prince came up with a crucial block in the closing seconds, as the Pistons moved into the Eastern Conference finals for a sixth straight year by holding on for a 91-86 victory over the Orlando Magic.

The Pistons, who won the semifinal series by a 4-1 margin, will face either Boston or Cleveland in the next round. The Celtics and Cavaliers are even with Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday in Boston.

Antonio McDyess scored eight of his 17 points during a huge run in the fourth quarter and totaled 11 rebounds for Detroit, which is the first team since the 1984-89 Los Angeles Lakers to reach six straight conference finals.

Hamilton went just 7-of-20 from the field, but hit all 16 of his foul shots and had four steals as the Pistons forced 21 turnovers and had just three, with all of them coming in the first quarter. Hamilton (2,280) moved past Isiah Thomas (2,261) as the Pistons' all-time leading playoff scorer.

The Pistons won despite playing without guard Chauncey Billups, who missed his second straight contest due to a strained right hamstring. Rodney Stuckey, Billups' replacement, had 15 points and six assists.

Rasheed Wallace contributed 14 points, while Prince had 10 for Detroit, which won despite shooting 36.1 percent from the field.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 for the Magic, while Dwight Howard ended with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson also had 14 points apiece.

A pair of Turkoglu baskets cut Orlando's deficit to 85-84 inside of minute left. Wallace then missed a shot from the left side, but Turkoglu knocked the ball out of bounds with 20.9 seconds left.

Hamilton made two free throws a second later, and Turkoglu then drove the lane for a jam, but Prince pinned the ball against the backboard and rim. Hamilton made four more foul shots in the closing 12.7 seconds to seal Detroit's win.

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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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Terrell Owens could return for Cowboys next game
A bye week will allow Terrell Owens broken hand to recover just in time for the next game the Dallas Cowboys are slated to play, according to reports. MySportsbook.com, an football sportsbook, has posted football betting lines on TO playing.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger Sunday night and had a plate surgically attached to it Monday. Although Owens' hand was swollen and aching Wednesday, Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said he's optimistic the receiver will be back at work next week and catching passes a week from Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

MySportsbook.com online sportsbook listed Terrell Owens with odds of 7-2 (or $7 paid out for every $2 bet) to return back for the game against Tennessee.

"I certainly wouldn't rule it out now," Parcells said, referring to Terrell Owens immediate return. "Maybe five days from now I might, but I wouldn't rule it out now. ... I know we're looking to try to get him moving around pretty good in the next day or so. So we'll see where we are."

Owens did not speak with reporters Wednesday, but said Sunday he'd be out two to four weeks. A return against the Titans would be 13 days after the surgery. The Cowboys were listed as an early -7 1/2 favorite vs. the Tennessee Titans for Week 4 at MySportsbook.com

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