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02/22/2009 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant notched a game-high 28 points and dished out seven assists to help the Los Angeles Lakers stave off a hungry Minnesota Timberwolves squad with a 111-108 triumph at the Target Center.
Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 25 points each, with Odom adding 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won four straight games and 11 of 12 overall. Los Angeles has also beaten the T'Wolves seven consecutive times and is a league- best 46-10 on the year.
Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes scored 20 points apiece for the T'Wolves, who have dropped two straight and seven of eight overall. Randy Foye and Mike Miller scored 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Craig Smith totaled 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting.
Telfair's layup brought the T'Wolves within 106-105 with 76 seconds left to play.
Then, following squandered possessions by both teams, Bryant missed a three from the left elbow but Odom grabbed the rebound. He quickly put back a layup to give LA a 108-105 advantage with 20.5 ticks remaining.
On Minnesota's ensuing possession Gomes had an open look from the top of the arc, but threw up an air ball. Bryant grabbed the board and was fouled with 14.1 seconds showing before hitting 1-of-2 for a four-point lead.
The T'Wolves came down and Foye nailed a three-pointer with 9.2 seconds left to make it a one-point game. Bryant was immediately fouled on LA's next inbounds pass and hit both shots for a 111-108.
Minnesota still had about seven seconds to get a shot off but Foye's bid was off the mark and the Lakers hung on for the victory.
"I think we had a lot of momentum down the stretch," Foye said. "They're a great team, a championship team, and they came in here today and took it to us. You have to give them credit."
The Lakers took a 29-26 lead after the first quarter and were on top 54-50 at the break.
The teams traded baskets and the lead through most of the third before the Lakers took a 76-70 advantage with 3 1/2 minutes left.
However, Smith's layup with 19.4 ticks remaining closed out a 10-2 T'Wolves run that gave the home team an 80-78 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
Foye's layup and Rodney Carney's dunk opened an 89-84 Minnesota lead with 8:38 left in the game.
"They were on fire as a team and they played really well," said Odom. "We didn't play well enough to stop them, but luckily we still won."
Josh Powell answered with a pair of jumpers and Odom hit two free throws to give the Lakers a brief 90-89 lead.
Up by one point moments later, Derek Fisher nailed a three with 1:44 left to make it 104-100.
Game Notes
The T'Wolves lost their sixth straight home game...LA shot 52.4 percent from the field and 74.1 percent from the charity stripe...Minnesota hit at a 50 percent clip from the floor and 73.7 percent at the foul line...The Lakers are 20-6 on the road this season...Minnesota is 8-19 as the host.
<< No. 9 Duke survives scare from eighth-ranked Wake Forest
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Henderson and Jon Scheyer each notched
career-highs with 35 and 30 points, respectively, and No. 9 Duke survived a
huge comeback effort from eighth-ranked Wake Forest to pick up a much-needed
101-91
<< California Dreamin': Kenseth wins second Cup race in a row
Fontana, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Kenseth is perfect so far in the early
2009 Sprint Cup Series season. Kenseth, winner of last weekend's Daytona 500,
picked up his second-consecutive victory by taking Sunday's Auto Club 500 at
Auto Club Spee
<< Harding's big night leads Wild past Blackhawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Harding turned in a superlative effort
between the pipes, making a career-high 44 saves, and Peter Olvecky's first
career goal was the game-winner, as Minnesota escaped with a 2-1 win over
Chicago
<< Blake dishes out 14 first-quarter assists, Blazers destroy Clippers
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LaMarcus Aldridge tallied a season-high 28
points and 10 rebounds, and Steve Blake tied an NBA record with 14 first-
quarter assists to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to their eighth consecutive
home wi
Leafs win in OT, keep Rangers on the skids >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Niklas Hagman scored on the power play three
minutes into overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the
New York Rangers in the opener of a home-and-home set at Madison Square
Garden.
No. 14 Arizona State holds off surging Wildcats >>
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Harden had 18 points and nine rebounds to
help No. 14 Arizona State edge Pac-10 rival Arizona, 70-68, at Wells-Fargo
Arena.
Rihards Kuksiks donated 17 points for the Sun Devils (21-5, 10-4 Pac-10), w
Warriors' Ellis sidelined at least one week >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis will be
sidelined 1-to-2 weeks because of stiffness in his surgically repaired left
ankle, the team announced Sunday.
Ellis, who missed the first 43 games of the sea
Report: Harrison asks for release from Colts >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In a stunning move Sunday, future Hall of
Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison has reportedly asked for his release from
the Indianapolis Colts.
A report on NFL.com said that after Harrison and the Colts
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In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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