Thunder kick off road trip in Charlotte

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's still plenty of wiggle room left for the Oklahoma City Thunder to move up in the Western Conference standings. A lengthy winning streak usually helps, as the Thunder shoot for a sixth straight win tonight against the Charlotte Bobcats in the opener of a three-game road trip.

Oklahoma City is currently fifth in the conference standings and sits 3 1/2 games behind second-seeded Denver. Utah is only a game ahead in the fourth spot, while Dallas has a three-game edge for third.

The Thunder will also visit Toronto and Indiana on the trek and are 19-13 away from the Ford Center. They made it five consecutive victories with Sunday's 119-111 triumph versus the Jazz in the finale of a perfect homestand thanks to 30 points and 11 assists from Russell Westbrook. Kevin Durant scored 35 points and Jeff Green added 14 for Oklahoma City, which is 17-3 in its last 20 games.

"That was about as physical a basketball team as we're going to face," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said of the Jazz. "It's great for our guys to experience it and compete against a very veteran, physical, playoff-tested team."

Brooks' squad shot a season-best 60.3 percent from the floor and made a season-high tying 44 field goals. Durant, who is second in the NBA with 29.8 ppg, has scored 30 or more points an NBA-best 37 times this season and the Thunder are 26-11 in that span.

Charlotte hopes to get back on track after having its season-high six-game winning streak cut short with Tuesday's 99-94 setback at Indiana.

Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw each scored 20 points for Charlotte, which is tied with Miami for the sixth seed in the conference. Stephen Graham notched a career-high 19 points, while Tyrus Thomas added 14 in defeat.

"We had a horrible second quarter...that just kind of set the tone. We got beat on the offensive boards early, we didn't move the ball and we didn't recognize when guys were open," said Charlotte coach Larry Brown.

Bobcats star forward Gerald Wallace missed a second straight game with an ankle injury, and is averaging 18.5 points per game. He is doubtful versus the Thunder. The Bobcats have won four in a row at home and are 24-8 in the Tar Heel State this season.

Oklahoma City is 19-6 versus the Eastern Conference this season and defeated Charlotte, 98-91, back on December 26 at the Ford Center. Durant poured in 30 points and Westbrook added 22 in that one.

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Huskers' Lucky hospitalized for undisclosed reason

LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska running back Marlon Lucky was hospitalized Monday for undisclosed reasons after Lincoln police responded to a call at his residence.

The Nebraska athletic department said in a release Monday that Lucky was admitted Sunday night.

MySportsbook.com has the Cornhuskers listed at +2500 to win the BCS National Championship odds.

A nursing supervisor at the hospital said all questions about Lucky were being referred to the athletic department. The athletic department said there would be no further comment from the department or Lucky's family.

A Lincoln Police spokesman said officers responded to a call at Lucky's residence 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The spokesman said he didn't know Lucky's condition at the time he was taken to the hospital.

Lucky, from North Hollywood, Calif., started six games last season as a sophomore and was the team's second-leading rusher, with 728 yards and six touchdowns. He also caught 32 passes for 383 yards. He averaged 19.1 yards on eight kickoff returns.

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