Two and a Half Men? Hardly. The Miami Heat have a fully fledged Big Three, as they demonstrated Sunday night when Chris Bosh dumped 34 points on the Chicago Bulls. Miami won the game 96-85 to pay out as 5-point home faves on the NBA betting lines, taking a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Heat are now favored at –125 to win the championship; Chicago is +600 and threatening to fall apart.

Bosh had some support in his big game. The Heat desperately needed some frontcourt beef in this series, and they got some with the return of Udonis Haslem to a reasonable state of health. Haslem played 24 minutes in Game 3 and scored eight points with four rebounds while posting a plus-3 as Miami’s bench finally outperformed Chicago’s.

The Bulls reserves could be in for an even tougher night in Game 4. Omer Asik, the 7-foot NBA rookie who was a two-time All-Star playing in his native Turkey, is listed as day-to-day after leaving Game 3 with a sprained left leg. The Bulls still have the capable Kurt Thomas in reserve, however, while Miami’s paper-thin bench has been shortened to mask its deficiencies.

Even with Haslem back in action, the Heat lost the battle on the offensive glass in Game 3, grabbing just five to Chicago’s 13. Miami did cut its turnovers down, but the Bulls still had 10 more shot attempts – they just failed to connect. Bosh, meanwhile, was allowed to march to the basket at the other end.

We’ll see what tricks defensive guru and Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau has up his sleeve for Tuesday’s Game 4 (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT). Bodog Sports will be there with live betting on tap and a full slate of NBA odds, props and futures.

Get all your NBA betting lines at Bodog.

Sharp handicappers looking at Tuesday night’s MLB betting matchup between the Atlanta Braves (26-22, -1.87 units) and Pittsburgh Pirates (22-24 SU, +5.05 units) aren’t expecting a high-scoring affair.

First off, the Braves roll into the opener of the quickie two-gamer at PNC Park with a shell of their struggling offense. Chipper Jones (hamstring) is questionable for Tuesday, while Jason Heyward (shoulder) and Nate McLouth (left oblique) are on the disabled list.

On the bright side, maybe some fresh blood can actually help Atlanta put some runs on the board. The Braves have dropped four of their last five against the moneyline, scoring only 11 runs in the process.

The good news for Atlanta is its hottest pitcher is throwing on Tuesday. Jair Jurrjens (5-1, 1.80 ERA) has allowed two or fewer runs in each of his seven starts this season, and the Braves are 5-2 in those outings. The righthander has gone at least 6 1-3 innings in each of his trips to the bump, and has a complete game under his belt.

Adding fuel to the low-scoring fire is Pirates starter and former Brave Charlie Morton (5-1, 2.62 ERA), who is pitching the best baseball of his life, meaning he’ll probably be shipped out of Pittsburgh as soon as he warrants a decent contract.

Morton has given up only six runs over his last 28 innings – four starts – and is coming off a complete-game shutout at Cincinnati last Wednesday. The righty allowed five hits as the Bucs cashed 5-0 as +140 road underdogs at Bodog.

Pittsburgh has won four of its last five contests, but it still remains a joke of a wager on the futures board. Atlanta is a +1000 pup to win the National League this season.

Get all your MLB odds at Bodog.

With the NFL lockout still in full effect teams and fans aren’t able to sink their teeth into any official trade talks or free agent signings. But it appears that hasn’t slowed GM’s down.

According to various sources, including ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio, Philadelphia Eagles backup Kevin Kolb being traded to the Arizona Cardinals is a “slam dunk as much as you can have a slam dunk,” and Cardinals fans should expect the transaction to go down as soon as the lockout is lifted.

But can bettors believe it? This is a difficult time in the NFL betting world as team’s aren’t supposed to be talking with players or other GMs. Without any free agent signings it’s difficult to throw money down on early NFL futures, this is usually the time to cash in on some solid early odds. The Cardinals are currently 75-1 odds to win the 2012 Super Bowl, you can be sure that will change if Kolb is signed.

The only guarantee you can truly run with is Arizona is the front-runner for Kolb. The Cardinals went best available instead of quarterback in the 2011 NFL Draft with Mizzouri product Blaine Gabbert staring them in the face, and appeared uninterested in any other QB in the draft. The Cards know that with a weak division they can easily take the NFC West with marginal quarterback play. And as the Seattle Seahawks proved in the 2011 playoffs, anything is possible once the one-and-done post-season begins.

In Kolb’s short time on the field in 2011, he displayed the ability to put up big numbers against solid defense of San Francisco and Atlanta. But don’t forget his issues with the impressive Packers 3-4 D in Week 1 that left him with a concussion.

So what would the Cards have to give up to grab Kolb. The rumor is 2012 first-rounder and a starter on defense. However, the Eagles aren’t exactly in a strong position to demand so much, Kolb can bolt at the end of the 2012 season without giving the Eagles anything for their trouble.

There is also a rumor that he could land with the Cleveland Browns but consider that a smokescreen from the Eagles attempting to keep their backup's value high. If the Cards land their guy expect them to be the favorite to take NFC West and their Super Bowl odds to at least be cut in half.

Bet on NFL Futures in the Bodog Sportsbook. Bodog, be a player.

The Novak Djokovic train is still running on all cylinders as the Serb won his 38th match in a row in 2011 and 40th straight overall with an easy 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 victory in the first round of the French Open over Dutchman Thiemo De Bakker on Monday.

Djokovic, who has never won the French Open, improved his Roland Garros record to 23-6. Should he win the title he would match Guillermo Vilas’ Open-era record of 46 consecutive wins overall. Should he reach the final, he would surpass John McEnroe’s mark of 42 wins to start a  season as well as take over the No. 1 world ranking from Rafael Nadal – even if Nadal (who plays his first match Tuesday) would happen to beat him in the championship match.

Djokovic will face either French wild card Benoit Paire or Romania's Victor Hanescu in the second round. No male has won the Australian and French Opens back to back since Jim Courier in 1992.

"It's my favorite grand slam, even though I haven't won it yet," Djokovic said. "I've been playing really well on clay. I've won three tournaments (on clay) in the last few weeks, so I'm trying to build on that confidence," he added.

Djokovic won the opening grand slam of the season in Australia and has claimed six other titles, including four Masters events. Roger Federer also won easily on Monday.

There was one big upset. Sixth seed Tomas Berdych was upset by 31-year-old Frenchman  Stephane Robert. Berdych was broken in the 15th game of the fifth and deciding set as Robert pulled off a 3-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 9-7 victory. Berdych was a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year.

Bet on the French Open now at Bodog!

Tonight’s all-important Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins has one vital question: Who will be in net for the Bolts? Boston is a -155 favorite on Bodog’s NHL odds.

Dwayne Roloson would seem to be a no-brainer – he’s the main reason the Lightning have gotten this far. And he has started every playoff game thus far. But Roloson was pulled with 2:04 left in the first period of Saturday's Game 4 after giving up three goals on nine shots. Backup Mike Smith came on in relief and didn't allow a goal as the Lightning came back to beat the Bruins 5-3. The best-of-seven series is tied at 2.

"We're preparing like usual. [Roloson is] preparing like he prepared for all the other games, so we're prepared," Lightning coach Guy Boucher told reporters Monday morning. Asked why he wouldn't just say Roloson is starting, Boucher said, "He's prepared. He got out. He's done his morning skate like usual. He prepared yesterday. We had a good talk, and he knows what's coming up."

But Roloson was the first of the two Tampa netminders off the ice Monday at the morning skate, a general indicator of who starts. Smith said Sunday he's quite certain it will be Roloson who gets the call even after Smith stopped all 21 shots he saw in relief in Game 4.

After leading the postseason in goals-against average and save percentage prior to the start of the conference finals, Roloson is 1-2 with a 4.43 goals-against average with a .854 save percentage in four starts against the Bruins.

Bet on Lightning-Bruins now at Bodog!

It almost makes perfect sense that the circus that is the New York Jets – just check out last year’s Hard Knocks on HBO – would welcome receiver Randy Moss. It’s almost like Jets coach Rex Ryan wants to be known as the Raiders East.

Anyways, nothing can of course happen until the NFL opens for business following the lockout, which could be a while. But the Jets reportedly are interested in adding Moss. And it does make football sense, although the 34-year-old Moss looked rather past-his prime last year in stints with the Patriots, Vikings and Titans – the former All-Pro had 28 catches for 393 yards and five touchdowns for easily the worst season of his career. The Jets, however, might be desperate. Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards and Brad Smith will all be unrestricted free agents if the 2010 free agency rules aren’t reinstated. Since entering the league in 1998 with the Vikes, Moss has 954 receptions for 14,858 yards and 153 receiving touchdowns.

Ryan has shown he’s not afraid to take on potential character risks – witness New York’s trade for Antonio Cromartie. The Jets have said they would like to bring back both Holmes and Edwards but probably won’t be ready to pay both big dollars on long-term deals. Moss would certainly come cheaper. The Jets also have been linked to other diva wide receivers like Plaxico Burress (now out of jail) and Chad Ochocinco.

Bet on NFL futures now at Bodog!

It’s a big night for the defending American League champion Texas Rangers as they welcome back outfielders Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz from the disabled list when they host the surging Chicago White Sox. Bet on this game at Bodog.

Hamilton has been out since suffering a non- displaced hairline fracture of his right humerus in an April 12 game at Detroit on a head-first slide at home plate, while Cruz was placed on the DL May 7 due to a strained right quadriceps. Hamilton, the 2010 AL MVP, was hitting .333 with seven RBI in 11 games before his injury, while Cruz is batting .219 with seven homers and 18 RBI in 30 games. The Rangers have slumped without the duo as Texas is averaging just 3.8 runs per game in its last 26 contests. They avoided a sweep by the Phillies with a 2-0 win Sunday. The Rangers were 14-21 minus Hamilton and 7-9 with Cruz out of the lineup.

The White Sox seem to be finding themselves. They took two of three over the weekend from the Dodgers to finish a homestand 5-2 following a 6-3 showing on the West Coast. Shortstop Alexei Ramirez tied career highs with four hits and five RBIs on Sunday.

The pitching matchup tonight looks rather one-sided. Texas starts surprising Alexi Ogando (4-0, 2.13). In his last five outings, Ogando is 2-0 with a 2.01 ERA and has allowed just seven earned runs over 31 1/3 innings. He threw a career-high 116 pitches in a no-decision vs. Kansas City last Wednesday. The Pale Hose go with lefty John Danks (0-6, 4.32). In his last start, Tuesday vs. Texas, Danks walked a career-high six batters and gave up three runs on four hits in 6 1/3 innings.

Get the best White Sox-Rangers props at Bodog!

It ain’t easy being Russell Westbrook. He’s taking quite a beating in the press now that the Oklahoma City Thunder have fallen behind 2-1 in the Western Conference Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. Although Westbrook scored 30 points in Saturday’s Game 3, he also committed seven turnovers while dishing out just four dimes. The Mavs won 93-87 as 3-point road dogs on the NBA betting odds board.

Yes, Westbrook does have a tendency to play like Kobe Bryant on one of his more selfish days. But Westbrook would have had more assists if Kevin Durant (24 points, 12 rebounds) had shot better than 7 of 22, serving up an ice-cold bagel on his eight trey attempts. The whole team went 1 for 17 from downtown. Some of those whiffs should find the basket in Game 4 on Monday night (9:00 p.m. ET, ESPN).

There are a few good takeaways for OKC fans after Game 3. The Thunder held a 12-9 advantage on offensive rebounds, or 30.0 percent to 21.4 percent using the more advanced stats. The Thunder were also 32 of 36 (88.9 percent) from the line, and they fought back valiantly after falling behind 35-12 early in the second quarter. Nick Collison was a plus-3 on the day and the only post player that seemed capable of slowing Dallas down. We might see more of Collison in Game 4.

There’s room for Dallas to improve, too. Dirk Nowitzki was 7 of 21 on Saturday for 18 points, and he matched Westbrook with seven turnovers. This looks like a bounce-back situation for the OVER. Monday’s total was 195 points at press time, down from 198.5 points in Game 3. Oklahoma City has moved to a 4-point favorite on the NBA betting lines.

Get all your NBA odds at Bodog.

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost six of their past 10 games but still lead the NL East by 1.5 games over Atlanta. Perhaps the Braves lost a great opportunity because now Philly welcomes back arguably its best player, second baseman Chase Utley, for Monday’s series opener with Cincinnati. Bet on the game with Bodog’s MLB odds.

The Phillies went 28-18 without Utley. They hit .245 and scored 3.8 runs per game – they haven’t scored more than three, however in nine straight games. It stands to reason those numbers should improve. Utley, who was battling a knee problem, will be activated today and immediately placed back into the middle of this lineup. Manager Charlie Manuel said that Utley likely would be hitting in his familiar spot, third in the order.

The Phils have been an injury-ravaged club this season. Already on the disabled list are closer Brad Lidge, his replacement, Jose Contreras, outfielder Shane Victorino and starting pitcher Joe Blanton, among others. The Reds don’t much like the City of Brotherly Love. Cincinnati is 3-12 the last five seasons at Citizens Bank Park, and has lost six in a row there and seven of eight. Cincy was just swept over the weekend by Cleveland and has lost five in a row.

The Game 1 pitching matchup favors the Phillies, who go with lefty Cole Hamels (5-2, 2.92). He allowed just one run in eight innings Wednesday against the Rockies in his last start. This is the first time facing the Reds since he threw a five-hit shutout against them in Game 3 of the 2010 NLDS to sweep the series. Cincy starts righty Bronson Arroyo (3-4, 4.11).  Arroyo is 0-4 with an 8.10 ERA in his last four regular season starts against the Phillies.

Bet on the Phils-Reds series now at Bodog!

Poor goaltending from the starters and stellar play between the pipes from a backup was the story in Game 4 of the NHL playoff betting matchup between the Bruins and Lightning on Saturday. What will be the story for Game 5 on Monday night?

Tampa Bay tied the best-of-seven Eastern Conference final on Saturday at two games apiece with a 5-3 home victory, but the situation looked bleak for the Lightning in the early going. Boston roared out to a 3-0 first-period lead in the game, with two goals from Patrice Bergeron and another from Michael Ryder. That was it for Bolts starting netminder Dwayne Roloson, who was yanked in favor of backup Mike Smith in the first period.

That wasn't it, however, for the Lightning, who proceeded to put three goals past Bruins netminder Tim Thomas in the second period, scored another on Thomas in the third period, and then got an empty-net marker from Martin St. Louis for good measure and a 5-3 win.

Smith stood on his head for Tampa Bay on Saturday afternoon, stopping all 21 Bruins shots he faced and putting Roloson on notice; if the Bolts' top goaltender stumbles again in Game 5 on Monday then Lightning coach Guy Boucher won't hesitate to go back to Smith.

Teddy Purcell (with two), Sean Bergenheim, and Simon Gagne also scored for Tampa Bay in Game 4, with Gagne providing the winner seven minutes into the third period. Thomas made 32 saves on Saturday but has been inconsistent in the series, blanking the Bolts in Game 3 but giving up 13 goals in the other three contests.

Bodog oddsmakers have the Bruins listed as -155 home favorites for Monday's Game 5, with the Lightning set as the +135 underdogs. The game's total is pegged at 5.5 goals.

Puck drop for Game 5 on Monday is set for 8:00 pm ET, while the teams will head back to Tampa Bay for Game 6 on Wednesday night. Game 7, if necessary, will be played in Boston on Friday night.

Get all your NHL odds at Bodog. Always know your odds.

The French Open kicked off play on Sunday at Roland Garros, but most of the true contenders on the tennis betting board take the court early in the week.

Rafael Nadal is gunning for his sixth career title in Paris, but while he went into the second Grand Slam of the year as the favorite at Bodog, he’s hardly the hottest player in the world.

Yes, the World No. 1 is the king of clay and is 18-2 on the surface this season alone, but he’s not on the run currently enjoyed by the second-seeded Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic has cashed 39 matches in a row dating back to last year, and owns seven tournament titles in 2011, including a pair of Masters Series wins on clay over Nadal.

Bettors can’t wait for a Nadal-Djokovic final in two weeks, and there’s little doubt that's where we’re headed barring a stunning reversal.

Djokovic’s rise has relegated Roger Federer to an afterthought, and that’s no easy task considering we’re discussing arguably the greatest player of all time. Federer’s best result on clay this season was in Madrid, where he fell to Nadal in the semifinals.

Federer won’t provide much value unless he reaches the semis, and he’s probably a better futures bet for Wimbledon. Bodog has Federer as a +300 underdog to run the table at the All England Club.

Over on the women’s side of the draw, it’s a wide-open affair with the Williams sisters out of commission and Kim Clijsters braving a bad wheel to hit the dirt in Paris.

If Caroline Wozniacki can’t win a major under these conditions, she may as well pack it in as a placeholder until one of the Williams sisters comes back – or Clijsters gets healthy.

Get all your French Open odds at Bodog.

A pair of pitchers with winning records will take the mound in Cleveland on Monday night as the Indians play host to the Red Sox in an MLB betting matchup.

The Red Sox will turn to Clay Buchholz (4-3, 3.42 ERA) on the road on Monday night.

Righthander Buchholz stumbled at the start of the season, but he's been dominant for Boston over the past month. In his four May outings Buchholz is 3-0 with a no-decision, allowing just four runs over those 25 2-3 innings of work.

As well, Buchholz fanned 22 hitters while walking just four in those four games. Last time out against the Tigers the righthander got saddled with a no-decision despite surrendering just four hits over seven shutout innings.

Heading to the hill for the Indians on Monday will be Justin Masterson (5-2, 2.52 ERA).

Cleveland was tagged with the loss in each of Masterson's last three starts but the righthander was effective in two of those games, holding the White Sox to one run over eight innings and the Angels to one run over seven innings.

In between those starts Masterson allowed five runs over 5 2-3 innings in a loss to the Rays. That marked the first time this season that the righthander had given up more than three runs in an outing.

As they continue to climb the AL East standings, the Red Sox also continue to climb the World Series odds list at Bodog. Boston sat at 6/1 odds to win the World Series heading into this week's action, trailing only the Phillies. Cleveland was at 22/1 odds.

Correspondingly, the Red Sox are the current AL Pennant favorite at Bodog at 5/2 odds, with the Indians fifth on that list (behind the Yankees, Rangers, and Rays) at 10/1 odds.

First pitch for Monday night's game is set for 7:05pm ET in Cleveland. The two teams continue the series on Tuesday night at 7:0pm ET before closing out the three-game set in a 12:05pm ET matinee on Wednesday.

Get all your MLB odds at Bodog.

Is it fair to call Spain’s Rafael Nadal the greatest clay-court player in tennis history? It would be hard to argue against that as Nadal enters the French Open looking for his second straight title at Roland Garros and sixth overall, which would tie a record set by the legendary Bjorn Borg.

Nadal is the top seed and the 8/11 favorite on Bodog’s tennis odds. However, there might be a chink in Nadal’s armor as he has lost his past two clay-court finals. In fairness, both came to Novak Djokovic, who has yet to lose this year, although both were also in straight sets. Nadal won’t have to deal with Djokovic until the final as they are in opposite sides of the draw. Djokovic was the first player to hand Nadal a clay-court loss in two years and first to ever beat him twice in one year on that surface. And the Serb has beaten Nadal two other times on hard courts this year as well. If form holds, Nadal would face Andy Murray in the semifinals (Roger Federer is in Djokovic’s side of the draw).

The French Open is Nadal’s playground. He has only lost once in his career there (38-1), coming in 2009 to Robin Soderling when Nadal, who was gunning for a record fifth straight French title, wasn’t completely healthy. It was one of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history for sure.

Overall, Nadal has won 31 of his 45 career titles on clay and is 220-18 all-time on that surface (194-8 since 2005). Nadal not only holds the record for the longest clay-court winning streak (81), but he is the only player in the Open era to win at least 30 consecutive matches three times. Incidentally, Borg’s career mark at Roland Garros is a heady 49-2, with both loses coming to Italian Adriano Pannatta. Borg says he is rooting for Nadal to tie and eventually pass his six French titles.

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Whether the world rankings agree or not – and right now they don’t – Belgium’s Kim Clijsters is the best women’s player in the world right now. But even though she has won the past two Grand Slam tournaments, Clijsters isn’t the favorite to win her first French Open – she is at 9/1 on Bodog’s tennis odds.

The main reason Clijsters doesn’t have shorter odds over players like Caroline Wozniacki, Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur who don’t have Clijsters’ resume is because Clijsters hasn’t played competitively since losing in the quarterfinals in Miami to Azarenka in late March. Up until a week or so ago it wasn’t even a sure thing that Clijsters would play the French Open as she was battling shoulder, wrist and ankle injuries. So it will be interesting to see how rusty Clijsters may be.

Believe it or not, this is the 27-year-old’s first French Open since 2006. She has been away that long both because of injuries and what turned out to be a temporary retirement from tennis while she got married and gave birth to a daughter. Clijsters has a 22-6 record at Roland Garros, twice finishing as the runner-up (2001, ‘03). But she has played only four TOTAL clay court matches since the 2006 French (going 2-2) and none this year.

Maria Sharapova, who is having a career rebirth of her own and among the Bodog betting favorites at 7/1 off an impressive title at the Italian Open, says Clijsters is the one to beat.

"It's always difficult to not play for a few weeks and come back at a grand slam being your first tournament," said Sharapova, who could possibly have to beat Clijsters in the quarterfinals. "But, you know, she has a tremendous amount of experience behind her. I don't think this is the first time that she's come back after having a long lay-off.

Bet on the French Open now at Bodog!

Great Britain’s Andy Murray is the highest-ranked player in the world (at No. 4) so he has to carry around the title of “best player not to win a Grand Slam tournament.” Will he change that and finally bring back a major to his title-starved country? The Scot is the fourth-favorite for the French Open at 16/1 on Bodog’s tennis odds.

The good news is that Murray would seem to have a pretty clear path to the semifinals with his draw. If form holds, Murray’s quarterfinals opponent should be world No. 8 Jurgen Melzer, but Murray has beaten the Austrian in all five career meetings (Melzer did make the semis in Paris last year). But then a date with five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, perhaps the best clay-court player ever, would likely be waiting.

The clay doesn’t seem to suit Murray’s game as his best result in four previous French Opens was the quarterfinals in 2009. Last year, Murray was embarrassed in the fourth round by Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3. For all of his talent, Murray has made only three Grand Slam finals, including this year’s Australian Open where he was beaten by now-invincible Novak Djokovic in a straight-set blowout. That is the only tournament final Murray has made in 2011.

And Murray says he is healthy despite the fact he cut short his practice session at Roland Garros and then pulled out of an exhibition match against Michael Llodra at Paris Country Club this week. Murray’s camp said it was simply a precaution due to aches and pains and that Murray will be 100 percent fit for the start of the French Open.

Bet on the French Open now at Bodog!

If Novak Djokovic wins his first French Open title and third career Grand Slam a week from Sunday in Paris, the Serb will make tennis history. Currently Djokovic is at 11/8 on Bodog’s tennis odds to win the second major of the season, which is only behind five-time champion Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic, who is the second seed at Roland Garros, has won 39 straight matches dating to the end of last year – his final loss coming in the season-ending ATP event against Roger Federer – and 37 in a row this year. If Djokovic wins seven matches at the French Open (which means the title), he will tie Guillermo Vilas’ Open-era record for most consecutive wins with 46. If Djokovic can reach the final, he will beat John McEnroe's record start in a season of 42 consecutive wins set in 1984.

And despite the fact that Djokovic has beaten top-seeded Rafael Nadal in four finals this year, including twice on clay (where Nadal hadn’t lost in two years), Djokovic thinks the Spaniard should be the favorite at the French.

"Let us be clear — he is the king of clay and he is the best player ever to play on this surface. I have won against him twice (recently), which I think is an incredible achievement for me and it has given me a lot of confidence for the French Open,” he said. “But this is only a couple of tournaments this year and he has been dominant on this surface for so many years."

Djokovic would take over the world’s top ranking from Nadal if Djokovic reaches the final of this tournament even if Nadal wins the championship – Djokovic and Nadal could only meet in the final. Djokovic is in the same half of the draw as Federer, meaning those two could mean in a semifinal. Djokovic is 3-0 against Federer this season.

Bet on the French Open now at Bodog!

On the road after giving up a game at home, the Dallas Mavericks came out determined to retake control of the Western Finals. They opened up a huge lead and were able to hold off the Thunder to win 93-87 and take a 2-1 series lead.

The Mavs opened things up with a 27-12 first quarter propelled by a balanced attack and early struggles from Thunder forward Kevin Durant, who finished 7 of 22 from the field. Mavs forward Dirk Nowitzki struggled as well, he finished with just 18 points.

“He’s the best, even if he’s not making shots early he wants the ball to make a play,” Dallas guard Jason Kidd said.

The Thunder, down 16 points at halftime, were able to make a comeback in the second half. The Thunder held the Mavs to just 18 points in the 3rd, and outscored them 31-23 in the 4th, however the late rally wasn’t enough.

Unfortunately Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook had another bad game. After being benched in Game 2 for taking too many shots the all-star was 8 for 20 from the field and had only four assists with seven turnovers, hardly the kind of performance you need to lead an offense.

The Thunder get another chance to win at home on Monday, May 23 at 9 p.m. ET.

Bet on NBA playoff odds in the Bodog Sportsbook. Bodog, be a player.

After going down 3-0 after the first period, the Tampa Bay Lighting rallied with three goals in the second and two more in the third to beat the Boston Bruins 5-3.

Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson gave up the three early goals on nine shots and was pulled, leading to backup Mike Smith subbing in and shutting out Boston the rest of the game. The exciting series is now tied 2-2.

The comeback began behind the stick of lightning forward Teddy Purcell, he scored twice in the period and brought the Lighting within on goal. Tampa Bay tied the game from another Sean Bergenheim goal, he leads the NHL with nine playoff goals after scoring just 14 times during the regular season.

Boston now has to regroup after giving away a game and series they had firmly in their grasp, the Bruins had shutout Tampa in Game 4, and it appeared the Lightning where all but down with a three goal deficit.

The Bruins will have the home ice advantage in Game 5, unfortunately they are an ordinary 5-3 at home, including a loss to the Lightning at home in Game 1 and two losses in a row in Boston versus the Montreal Canadians.

Game 5 in on Monday, May 23 at 8 p.m. ET.

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We have a Udonis Haslem sighting. Just when it looked like the Miami Heat were up a creek without a power forward, Haslem played his first significant minutes in nearly five months, coming off the bench to score 13 points in Wednesday’s 85-75 win over the Chicago Bulls (–2.5 at home).

That ties the Eastern Conference Finals at one game apiece with Game 3 coming up on Sunday in Miami. Bodog Sports will be there with live betting (8:30 p.m. ET start time on TNT) and the usual full menu of basketball lines and props.

It looked like Chicago’s big men were going to steal Miami’s lunch money in Game 1. But with Haslem (five rebounds in 23 minutes) back on the floor, the Heat muscled their way to a 45-41 advantage on the glass.

So are the Heat back in business? Not so fast. Haslem was actually a minus-11 on the day, as was fellow reserve Mike Miller. Just as they did in the opener, the Bulls' bench players outperformed Miami’s. As for the Windex, the Bulls grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to 10 for the Heat, who also committed 15 turnovers to 10 for Chicago. These were issues for Miami in Game 1, but this time the Bulls went 3 of 20 from downtown to spoil all those extra possessions.

The betting public probably doesn’t know much about the Four Factors. Miami was the top title favorite on the futures market as we went to press, sitting at +120 with the Bulls left in the dust at +375. The star power of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (and their faithful sidekick, Chris Bosh) is bound to attract casual bettors who are less familiar with the defensive stylings of Keith Bogans and Ronnie Brewer. The Heat may indeed be the best team in the league, but where’s the betting value? In Chicagoland, evidently.

Get all your NBA odds at Bodog.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is on the shelf, but NASCAR betting is alive and well this week with Saturday night’s 27th annual All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

NASCAR promoters are billing the race as a no-holds barred, winner-take-all, free-for-all, but whether that plays out on Saturday night remains to be seen. Yes, no points that count towards the Chase for the Cup are at stake, but drivers can still be penalized for aggressive behavior.

We’re looking at you, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. The duo, of course, is mired in a not-so-private spat after their little run-in at Darlington, although nothing of consequence happened last week at Dover. Still, there’s a chance something could go down on Saturday, and that has bettors gearing up for what’s a meaningless race in the standings.

It’s an All-Star event, but there’s money to be made, and in that sense, the public likes Busch over Harvick. Bodog has Busch set as a +650 co-favorite to cash the All-Star Race, while Harvick is on the board at +1000.

The other co-fave, not surprisingly, is Jimmie Johnson (+650), who won this event in 2003 and 2006. Johnson rolls into Charlotte in second place in the Cup standings, 24 points behind leader Carl Edwards (+700).

Handicap Saturday’s race to glean an eye into what’s going to happen next week in Charlotte at the Coca-Cola 600. Seven drivers have followed up a win in the All-Star Race with a victory in the Coca-Cola 600, including last year when Kurt Busch (+1600) turned the trick. Johnson did it in ’03, while Kasey Kahne pulled the double in ’08.

Matt Kenseth is priced at +1200 to win Saturday’s 100-lap event after cashing at Dover last week, as is Tony Stewart.

Get all your NASCAR odds at Bodog.