Duncan dominant as Spurs top Warriors in OT

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02/03/2009 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan scored 32 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili got the game into overtime with two free throws late in regulation, as the Spurs downed the Warriors, 110-105.

Duncan fouled out with 3:17 left in overtime, but he had already done plenty of damage, making 13-of-20 shots from the floor. Ginobili added 32 as well and Tony Parker tallied 23 points with seven assists for the Spurs, who improved their division lead to four games over New Orleans, who lost a game and perhaps Chris Paul as well due to injury on Monday night. San Antonio has won eight of its last nine games.

Stephen Jackson poured in 33 points and had 11 assists, but didn't even draw iron on his final shot at the end of regulation. Monta Ellis added 17 points with eight rebounds and Corey Maggette donated 15 for the Warriors, who have lost three of four.

The Spurs are in the midst of their yearly rodeo road trip that will last until February 21. They will also visit Denver, Boston, New Jersey, Toronto, New York, Detroit and Washington on this lengthy road trip.

The Warriors raced out of the fourth-quarter gates with eight successive points to increase the margin to double digits. A C.J. Watson layup and two free throws made the score 87-75 with 9:43 on the clock, however the Spurs poured in 12 points in a row moments later to tie the game. Parker's acrobatic lay-in tied the game with 3:38 on the clock. Ellis gave the Warriors a two- point edge on a mid-range jumper from the top of the key, and the Warriors stripped Duncan in-between a double team with just under two minutes left.

Ellis bobbed and wove into the lane and scooped in a leaner with 1:33 to go, but the Spurs answered with Parker's lay-in off a textbook backdoor cut. Jackson stuck a jumper with 1:02 to play for the four-point margin, but Ginobili drew contact on the other end and made both foul shots with 49.3 ticks to go.

Ginobili was bailed out by the referees who whistled a foul on the southpaw's drive to the basket and he made both shots for a 95-95 tie.

Duncan converted in the lane to start overtime, and moments later, Parker found Duncan on a second-chance opportunity for a slam and a 99-95 advantage. After another Warriors miss, Duncan used a good head fake to draw a foul and buried 1-of-2 for a 100-95 game.

Andris Biedrins scored from in close, but missed the subsequent free throw, then the Spurs all but iced the contest with back-to-back buckets in transition. Biedrins scored with 1:49 to clock for a 104-99 game, and after a Michael Finley miss, Watson hit a two-point jumper with his toes on the line for a 104-101 game. Ginobili missed on the other end, but Kurt Thomas streaked through the lane for the putback and a 106-101 lead.

After a Watson miss, Parker was fouled and made both for 108-101 game. The Warriors cut the margin to 108-105 on Maggette's slam with about 15 seconds left, however Ginobili rattled in both at the charity stripe for a five-point lead.

San Antonio took a 27-25 lead in the second stanza, but Golden State surged ahead 52-48 after 24 minutes of action. The edge remained at four points, 79-75, after three periods.

Game Notes

The Spurs improved to 15-7 on the road...San Antonio has won 13 of its last 16 meetings with the Warriors...The Spurs have won 31 straight games in which they scored at least 100 points...San Antonio improved to 17-4 in its last 21 games...Watson and Biedrins each scored 11 in defeat.

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NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25

NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.

No. 1 always seems to fit USC.

Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.

Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.

Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.

"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."

Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.

"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."

The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.

"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."

Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.

"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"

USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.

"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."

While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.

As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.

But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.

Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.

The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.

The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.

The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.

No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.

Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.

Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.

The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.

South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.

The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.

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