Sports Handicappers Win With Celtics Over Bulls, Focus on Hawks-Heat

Today in the Daily Sports Betting Roundup: The Nuggets and Mavericks launch the second round of the NBA playoffs, and the Red Sox and Rays battle in Tampa.

Tipping off on the hardwood  . . .

The second round of the NBA playoffs begins on Sunday afternoon, with the Mavericks on the road to take on the Nuggets in Denver. Dallas beat San Antonio 106-93 in their series clincher on Tuesday night, with Dirk Nowitzki scoring 31 points in that contest. Denver bounced New Orleans with a 107-86 victory on Wednesday night, with Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 34 points. The oddsmakers opened the Nuggets as 5-point home favorites for Game 1 on Sunday, with that line quickly moving to 5.5 points. The total is 206.5 points.

As well, the first round of the postseason will conclude on Sunday, with the Hawks hosting the Heat in Atlanta in a deciding seventh game. Miami forced a Sunday meeting by taking Game 6 98-72 at home on Friday night. Dwyane Wade was good for 41 points in that victory, while Jermaine O'Neal sat out with a mild concussion. Mike Bibby tossed in 20 points in a losing cause for the Hawks.

 

Sunday sports picks…

European bettors are collecting on Barcelona-Chelsea Champions League results and betting the Jurgen Klinsmann props. American bettors cleaned up at the sportsbooks with Pacquiao beating Hatton and the Kentucky Derby 2009 upset.

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Meeting up on the diamond . . .

Brad Penny will take his 2-0 record but ugly 8.66 ERA to the mound on Sunday afternoon when his Red Sox complete their road series in Tampa Bay. The righthander was pounded for seven runs (four earned) in just 2 2-3 innings in a start against the Indians on Tuesday, but he escaped with a no-decision. The Rays will counter with James Shields, who is 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA in five outings.

The Yankees will host the Angels again on Sunday afternoon, while Cleveland is in Detroit. As well, it'll be Baltimore at Toronto, Kansas City at Minnesota, and Oakland at Seattle, with the Rangers hosting the White Sox in the primetime matchup. John Danks (2-1. 2.74 ERA) is slated to get the ball for Chicago in that 8:05pm ET contest, while Matt Harrison (1-2, 7.89 ERA) will pitch for the Rangers.

Over in the National League on Sunday the Dodgers will send Chad Billingsley to the mound at home against the Padres; righthander Billingsley is 4-0 with a sparkling 2.14 ERA on the season. Elsewhere it's Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, the Mets at Philadelphia, St. Louis at Washington, Houston at Atlanta, Arizona at Milwaukee, Florida at the Cubs, and Colorado at San Francisco to finish the slate.

Taking a trip around the rink . . .

There are two Game 2's on the National Hockey League playoff schedule for Sunday, with Anaheim at Detroit and Carolina at Boston. The defending-champion Red Wings got a late goal from Nicklas Lidstrom in Game 1 on Friday night in a 3-2 win over the Ducks. Lidstrom tallied twice in that contest, and Johan Franzen had the other Detroit goal. Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne had the goals for Anaheim, while Jonas Hiller stopped 34 of the 37 Red Wings shots.

The Bruins had no trouble taking a 1-0 lead in their second-round series on Friday night, rolling to a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes. Boston got two goals from Marc Savard and singles from David Krejci and Michael Ryder in the victory, while Tim Thomas made 26 saves. Jussi Jokinen had the lone Hurricanes goal late in the first period, while Cam Ward was victimized for four goals on 24 shots.

Sports headlines…

Manny Pacqiao knocked out Ricky Hatton in the second round…The Boston Celtics knocked out the Chicago Bulls in seven games, another GodsTips Wise Guy winner…50-1 long shot Mine the Bird beat the odds to win the Kentucky Derby…Hall-of-Game QB Jack Kemp is dead at age 73…Kyle Busch sweeps Richmond, his car sparkling like it just came out of the Surf City Garage…Several long distance races are going on around the country including the Flying Pig Marathon, Pittsburgh Marathon, Broad Street Run, and the NYC Bike Tour.