early added to the lead in the closing seco | Forum

Some bettors in Las Vegas put big money on Golden State to win next years NBA championship in the days leading up to Kevin Durants July 4 announcement that he was leaving Oklahoma City to join the Warriors. Nike Tanjun Cheap .On July 3, the Westgate SuperBook took a $20,000 bet on the Warriors at 3-2 to win the 2017 title. Westgate bookmakers treated the bet as an educated-guess wager and adjusted Golden States odds accordingly.MGMs sportsbook also reported notable action on the Warriors in the days leading up to Durants decision, including a half-dozen four-figure bets on Golden State at 3-1, MGM assistant manager Jeff Stoneback said. The flurry of action at the MGM subsided on the Fourth of July after Durant was officially a Warrior. But by the time it was over, three times more money had been bet on Golden State than any other team.We got popped on the Warriors right before he announced, Stoneback said. Most of the bets came Saturday and Sunday, and then we got some more on the Fourth.A week after Durants decision, the odds to win the 2017 championship have stabilized, with the Warriors sitting as the odds-on favorite at around 2-3 at most shops. The defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers are next at 5-2, followed by the San Antonio Spurs at 8-1.Without Durant, Oklahoma City is now 30-1 at the SuperBook and 20-1 at the MGM.We had quite a few tickets on the Thunder at 5-1, Stoneback said. Those poor people now can be getting 20-1.The SuperBook moved the Chicago Bulls from 100-1 to 80-1 with the addition of Dwyane Wade, while dropping the Miami Heat from 25-1 to 80-1.The SuperBook is offering the Warriors at -150 or the field at +130 and opened a season-win total on Golden State at 68.5. The bulk of the early action is on the field, according to SuperBook assistant manager Jeff Sherman, and the win total has been bet down to 67.5.The South Point sportsbook is offering a prop bet on the Warriors and Cavaliers versus the field. Golden State and Cleveland are -220 favorites over the field.William Hills Nevada sportsbook has a prop on who will have the higher regular-season scoring average: Durant or two-time reigning MVP Stephen Curry. Durant opened as a -175 favorite. Nike Tanjun Clearance Sale . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Nike Tanjun Outlet . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. http://www.cheapniketanjun.net/ . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. NEW YORK -- Andrei Vasilevskiy faced 20 shots in the third period Monday night, so there wasnt much time for him to worry about the status of his shutout.The Tampa Bay Lightning goalie was more worried about a victory, anyway.Vasilevskiy made 34 saves for his third career shutout, J.T. Brown and Ryan Callahan scored 42 seconds apart in the first period and the Lightning beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Monday night.We get two points, thats most important, Vasilevskiy said, and the shutout is a little bounce.The goalie said he expected the Islanders to press in the third after being outshot 17-4 in the second.Usually when a team plays not that good (in the second period), they make a push in the third, Vasilevskiy said. We did a good job on the (penalty kill) and the game overall, blocked shots and good play. I just want to say thank you to our guys for the shutout.Nikita Kucherov and Vladislav Namestnikov scored as the Lightning won for the fourth time in seven games (4-2-1) following a three-game skid.Steven Stamkos had two assists to help Tampa Bay complete a sweep of the three-game season series with the Islanders -- all within the last 14 days -- by a combined 14-2 margin.We sat back probably a little too much in the third and put Vasy in a tough position to make some big saves, Stamkos said. He earned the shutout for sure.Jaroslav Halak had 27 saves for New York, which was shut out for the first time this season and fell to 1-3-3 in its last seven.Obviously we dont want to be in the spot we are in, Islanders captain John Tavares said. We just have to play positive and get better. You get up tomorrow and try to get better.Travis Hamonic returned to the Islanders just nine days after suffering a hand injury that was expected to keep him out four to six weeks. However, New York was without fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg after he was placed on injured reserve with a broken jaw after getting hit in the face by a puck in Saturday nights overtime loss at Florida. Scott Mayfield was an emergency recall from Bridgeport of the AHL, and the Islanders used seven defensemen and 11 forwards.Mayfield fought with Brown about 5 1/2 minutes into the second after Brown hit Tavares. Nike Tanjun Clearance. Mayfield received 17 minutes of penalties, getting whistled for instigating and a misconduct in addition to the fighting major.Kucherov extended Tampa Bays lead to 3-0 with 5:36 left in the second by completing a give-and-go with Stamkos, snapping the puck past Halak for his sixth of the season. It was Kucherovs fourth goal against the Islanders, including one in each of the teams three meetings.The Lightning made it 4-0 about 2 1/2 minutes later when Stamkos brought the puck up ice and sent a pass to the right to Namestnikov, who tipped it in for his third.Brown got the Lightning on the scoreboard with 1:02 left in the opening period, taking a pass from Craig Paquette and flicking the puck past Halak.Tampa Bay made it 2-0 with 20 seconds remaining when Andrej Sustr fired a shot from the right point that Callahan appeared to deflect with the shaft of his stick over Halaks glove. It was Callahans first goal of the season and his 349th career point.Kucherov nearly added to the lead in the closing seconds of the first, but the puck ricocheted of the crossbar.Game notes Stamkos had seven points (two goals, five assists) in the three meetings against the Islanders this season, and Kucherov had six points (four goals, two assists). ... Stamkos also has a point in six of the last eight games with three goals and seven assists. ... Tampa Bay improved to 9-0-1 this season when scoring at least three goals. ... The Islanders have lost seven straight against the Lightning, including the last four of Tampa Bays five-game series win in the second round of the playoffs last spring. ... New Yorks Nikolay Kulemin played his 598th game.UP NEXT:Lightning: At Detroit on Tuesday night in the second game of a five-game trip.Islanders: Host defending champion Pittsburgh on Friday night to complete their two-game homestand before heading out on a three-game California trip.---Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP ' ' '