Great bet congratulations

Congrats, if you had Phoenix -9 Tuesday against the Clippers.

In interim coach Alvin Gentry’s debut, the Suns looked three years younger in a 140-100 rout of the Clippers.

The 31-point cover was the largest of the week for NBA sides. According to ESPN, the 40-point win was also the largest margin of victory following a coaching change in NBA history.

"It felt totally different," Amare Stoudemire said of his team’s 140-point explosion.

It looked different, too.

Under ex-coach Terry Porter, the Suns tried to play a more traditional half-court game. It resulted in a ho-hum 28-23 record and cost Porter his job during All-Star weekend.

In their first game under Gentry, the Suns reverted back to their freewheeling, up-tempo attack that helped them reach the Western Conference Finals under now Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni.

They scored 81 points in the first half and led by 32.

It’s normally difficult to know how a team will react to a mid-season coaching change. But, in this case, there were glaring signs that Steve Nash and company would embrace the change with open arms. The Suns had made it crystal clear that they were not enjoying playing for Porter. They looked like the definitely enjoyed playing up-tempo basketball again.

The absence of starting Clippers center Marcus Camby in addition to the motivation provided by the coaching change made the Suns an even more attractive bet.

Were these the reasons you pounced on the Suns? Was there something else that led you to play the Suns? Let us know.

Congrats, if you had New Orleans -1.5 Wednesday against Orlando.

The Hornets built a 15-point first-quarter lead and never looked back.

They put the game away in third quarter on their way to a 32-point win.

Congrats, if you had the Knicks -3 Friday against Toronto. New York led by 20 after the first quarter and 25 at halftime on its way to a 30-point win.

Bad Beat Condolences

Sorry, if you had Siena -7 against Northern Iowa Saturday.

The Gaels showed early on that they were the more athletic team. They opened the game with a 17-4 run led by 21 at half.

Siena stayed in control in the second half, maintaining a 20-point cushion with 11:22 to play.

But the Gaels missed their next seven shots and found their lead trimmed to 10 with six minutes left.

Northern Iowa made three 3-pointers down the stretch, including Travis Brown’s heave with six seconds to play that cut the lead to five.

Siena’s Edwin Ubiles could have salvaged a push, but he missed a free throw with three seconds left. Final: Siena 81, Northern Iowa 75.

Sorry, if you had Wisconsin +8 at Michigan State Sunday.

The Badgers took the lead two minutes into the game and wouldn’t relinquish their lead until there were just four minutes left.

Michigan State ended the game with a 20-5 run in the last six minutes to pull out a miracle cover. Final: Michigan State 61, Wisconsin 50.

Sorry, if you had under 207 in the Hornets-Lakers game Saturday.

You had to be feeling good with the Hornets leading 98-95 with 23 seconds to play.

Kobe Bryant turned it over on the Lakers’ possession, sparking a three-on-one Hornet fastbreak led by Chris Paul.

Paul could have pulled it out and forced the Lakers to foul. But, instead, he chose to fake a behind-the-back pass to a trailing teammate and ended up committing on an offensive foul.

Derek Fisher hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 20 seconds left, forcing an overtime that easily pushed the total over. Final: Lakers 115, Hornets 111.

David Payne writes for Ben Burns

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