Gordon, Bulls complete furious rally to shock Pistons

Basketball Betting Lines

02/10/2009 - Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Gordon's four-point play with 16.7 seconds left in regulation proved to be the game-winning bucket, as the Chicago Bulls erased a 15-point fourth quarter deficit to sneak by the Detroit Pistons, 107-102.

Gordon finished with 24 points, while Derrick Rose and Tyrus Thomas fueled the comeback effort, finishing with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Thomas also pulled down 10 rebounds, and Joakim Noah chipped in 12 points and a game-high 16 boards for the Bulls, who were coming off a moderately successful 4-3 road trip.

Detroit, which was playing without All-Star guard Allen Iverson (flu), did not hit a field goal in the final 3 1/2 minutes in dropping its second straight game. Richard Hamilton dropped 30 points and Rasheed Wallace ended with 20 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

Down 15 midway through the fourth, Noah recorded a three-point play and Thomas notched four straight points to make it a 94-86 game with six minutes left.

Several minutes later, Thomas' double-clutch make from 10-feet out cut the deficit to six, and Gordon made two at the free throw line for a 100-96 affair with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Rose added a free throw and a pair of buckets around two makes at the stripe from Wallace, as the score read 102-101 in favor of Detroit with 46.1 seconds remaining.

A poor shot selection by Wallace from deep in the corner with plenty of time left on the shot clock gave the Bulls a chance to take the lead.

Rose was blocked in the lane by Wallace but regained possession and swung it out to Gordon in the corner. Gordon nailed the trifecta while being fouled by Rodney Stuckey, and the Bulls suddenly led 105-102 with 16.7 seconds showing on the clock after his free throw.

Hamilton had nice opportunity to cut into Detroit's deficit but decided against a contested layup. His pass to Antonio McDyess on the right block caught the forward by surprise and the ball caromed out of bounds.

Andres Nocioni's two free throws capped the impressive come-from-behind win.

The Bulls led 30-22 after the first thanks to a 9-2 run that ended the frame. The Pistons responded in the second with a 9-2 spurt of their own midway through and held a slim 51-50 edge at the break.

Chicago stared at an 85-71 deficit heading to the fourth after being outscored 10-3 to end the third.

Game Notes

At halftime, the Bulls honored Johnny "Red" Kerr, the club's first head coach and longtime color commentator ...Chicago had dropped its previous three home tests...Detroit has lost five straight games at the United Center...Nocioni finished with 14 points for Chicago, while Stuckey and Tayshaun Prince chipped in 16 points apiece for the Pistons...Hamilton handed out a game-high eight assists.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.