Suns resume homestand vs. fading Hornets

Basketball Betting Lines

03/14/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns hope to get back on the winning track Sunday when they resume a season-long seven-game homestand against the fading New Orleans Hornets at US Airways Center.

The Suns fell to 1-2 on their residency Friday when Kobe Bryant finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, as the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 102-96 victory over Phoenix.

Amare Stoudemire had 29 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Suns, who are currently the seventh seed in the Western Conference playoff picture. Jason Richardson added 16 points, while Steve Nash had 14 points and eight assists in the loss.

"I think the second quarter was what got us," Stoudemire said. "The Lakers took advantage of it. Once you get down against those guys, it's tough to get back."

The Hornets, who are opening up a five-game road trip tonight, lost for the sixth time in seven games Friday when Carmelo Anthony put up 32 points to go with 12 rebounds, and Denver pulled away late for a 102-95 win over New Orleans.

David West and Marcus Thornton led New Orleans with 30 and 23 points, respectively. Darren Collison accounted for 17 points and 10 assists in the loss for the Hornets, who are now an almost insurmountable seven games behind Portland for the final playoff spot in the West with just 16 games left to be played.

"They made plays and we didn't," Thornton said. "They're an elite team, veterans, and they made plays down the stretch."

Veteran forward James Posey did not travel with the Hornets to Phoenix due to a nasty case of the flu.

Phoenix has taken two of three meetings with the Hornets this season, including a 124-104 rout in the desert back in November.

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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).

Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.

A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.

"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.

De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.

The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.

The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.

De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.

Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.

But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your bet on boxing needs.