Nuggets press on without Karl in Memphis

Basketball Betting Lines

03/13/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets continue their push to the postseason without head coach George Karl tonight against a desperate Memphis Grizzlies team.

The Nuggets played without Karl, who is undergoing radiation and chemotherapy to combat throat and neck cancer, for the second straight game last night, a 102-95 win in New Orleans.

Karl will also miss the remaining two games of the team's current road trip as he continues his treatment. The Nuggets said Karl is still adjusting to the feeding tube that was inserted into his stomach during a surgical procedure on Monday.

"I have tremendous trust in [interim coach Adrian Dantley] and my staff," Karl said on Friday. "I think they'll keep the team in a good place over the next few days, and hopefully I'll be ready to rejoin them when they come home next week."

The Nuggets' next home game is Tuesday, March 16 against Washington.

Denver has won five in row but sits just two game ahead of Utah in the Northwest Division and one-half game behind Dallas for the No. 2 spot in the Western Conference.

Carmelo Anthony put up 32 points to go with 12 rebounds last night, as the Nuggets pulled away late for a 102-95 win over New Orleans.

Chauncey Billups added 21 points while Nene had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Johan Petro, replacing the injured Kenyon Martin in the lineup, chipped in 10 and 10 to help the visitors win a game that featured 19 lead changes and 21 ties.

"We did come through in the second half, did what we had to do," said Dantley. "But we can play better basketball, we have to play better basketball."

The Grizzlies, meanwhile, remained four games behind Portland for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West after a 119-112 home win over New York last night. Ex-Knick Zach Randolph had 24 points and 11 rebounds in that one.

O.J. Mayo had 22 points and Rudy Gay provided 20 for Memphis, which led by as many as 29 before the Knicks got within single digits in the final minutes. But the Grizzlies held on to get their second straight win at home following an eight-game losing streak at FedExForum.

Mike Conley added 18 points, six assists and five boards for Memphis, which has won three in a row overall.

"We'll take an ugly win over a good loss any day, or a bad loss any day," Mayo said. "Some people, 'Oh, we played LA close.' Some people get excited about that. Ugly win [will] beat that any time."

The Grizzlies snapped an eight-game series skid to Denver with a 102-96 win in Memphis back in December.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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