Sports in brief: Roy, Aldridge help Blazers defeat Pistons

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge each had 20 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers held off the tired but tenacious Detroit Pistons 87-81 Wednesday in Portland.

The Blazers led by as many as 20 points in the second half, but the Pistons chipped away and closed to within 78-77 with less than 2 minutes left.

Steve Blake nailed a 3-pointer late to help the Blazers hold on for the win.

Former Eastern Washington Eagles star Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 21 points but hit just 6 of 21 shots from the floor. Former Gonzaga standout Austin Daye scored seven points in 19 minutes off the bench. He hit 3 of 5 shots, including a 3-pointer.

•Nowitzki too much for Spurs: Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his season-high 41 points in overtime and the short-handed Dallas Mavericks, who played without three starters, held on to beat the injury-depleted San Antonio Spurs 99-94 in Dallas.

•Rondo sparks Celtics: Rajon Rondo scored 12 of his season high-matching 18 points in the third quarter and the Boston Celtics rebounded from a two-game skid with a 109-95 win over the Golden State Warriors in Boston.

•Hawks win again: Joe Johnson tossed in 30 points, Josh Smith dominated during a decisive first-half run and the Atlanta Hawks won their sixth in a row, beating the Miami Heat 105-90 in Atlanta to reclaim a share of the NBA’s best record. The Hawks are 10-2 and haven’t lost at home this season.

•Wizards drub Cavaliers: LeBron James was stymied down the stretch by DeShawn Stevenson’s tough defense, Antawn Jamison delivered a double-double – 31 points, 10 rebounds – in his season debut, and the Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-91 in Washington to end a six-game losing streak. James finished with 34 points and nine assists, but he only scored six in the fourth quarter on 3-of-7 shooting.

Cleveland played without Shaquille O’Neal, who has a strained shoulder and didn’t travel with the team.

•Lakers get Gasol back: Pau Gasol finally will play for the Los Angeles Lakers tonight when they face the Chicago Bulls at Staples Center. Gasol hasn’t played this season because of a right hamstring injury.

Dolphins’ Brown out for season

NFL: Ronnie Brown’s season has ended with an injury.

The Miami Dolphins’ leading rusher was placed on injured reserve because of a right foot injury suffered in Sunday’s victory over Tampa Bay.

Brown missed the final nine games of the 2007 season with a right knee injury.

Miami hoped Brown might be able to return this year but made the move after he was examined by a specialist.

•Westbrook improves: Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook has improved significantly since Sunday when he sustained a second concussion in a three-week span, doctors said.

Westbrook won’t play this Sunday at Chicago against the Bears, and it’s unknown if he’ll return at all this season.

•Probation for Smith: Former Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Jimmy Smith will serve 18 months of probation after pleading guilty to drug possession charges.

The charge stemmed from an April traffic stop in Jacksonville, Fla., in which Smith was found driving without a license and carrying cocaine and marijuana.

Scioscia, Tracy voted top managers

Baseball: Los Angeles Angels skipper Mike Scioscia won the American League Manager of the Year award for the second time, while Jim Tracy of Colorado was selected for the National League honor – his first.

Tracy became the second manager to win the award after taking over during the season, joining Jack McKeon for Florida in 2003. Less than an hour after the award was announced, the Rockies said Tracy had been rewarded with a three-year contract.

Auld leads Stars past Red Wings

NHL: Alex Auld made 31 saves, and Mike Ribeiro, Matt Niskanen and Loui Eriksson scored as the Dallas Stars snapped the Detroit Red Wings’ three-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory in Detroit.

Denmark tops United States men

Soccer: The United States wasted an early goal by Jeff Cunningham and lost a World Cup warmup 3-1 to Denmark in Aarhus, Denmark.

It was the final match of 2009 for the Americans.

Substitutes Johan Absalonsen, Soren Rieks and Martin Bernburg beat goalkeeper Brad Guzan during the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Danes took advantage of a porous U.S. defense.

•France among World Cup qualifiers: France qualified for its fourth consecutive World Cup when officials missed an obvious hand ball by Thierry Henry that led to William Gallas’ overtime goal in a 1-1 tie against Ireland.

Greece, Slovenia, Portugal, Algeria, Uruguay also advanced to next year’s tournament in South Africa on the final day of qualifying.

Earnhardt Ganassi signs McMurray

NASCAR: Jamie McMurray has been hired to drive the No. 1 Chevrolet for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

The hiring, long in the works, gives one of the last open seats for 2010 to McMurray. It also reunites McMurray with car owner Chip Ganassi, who gave the driver his first Cup ride in 2002.

•Button will team with Hamilton: Formula One champion Jenson Button signed with McLaren to partner with Lewis Hamilton, giving the English team a potent lineup for next season featuring the most recent title holders.

Ducks’ Blount moves up depth chart

Miscellany: LeGarrette Blount took a more active role in practice this week because of illness and injury among Oregon’s running backs.

But it still isn’t known whether he’ll see playing time at Arizona Saturday.

Redshirt freshman LaMichael James sat out of practice earlier this week because of illness. Kenjon Barner had a quadriceps injury, so Oregon was left with Andre Crenshaw, Remene Alston and Blount.

Blount was reinstated from his suspension last week, but he did not play in No. 11 Oregon’s 44-21 win over Arizona State.

•Ramzi stripped of gold: Fifteen months after the Beijing Olympics, Bahraini middle-distance runner Rashid Ramzi was stripped of his 1,500-meter gold medal because of doping at the games.

•LPGA shrinks: The LPGA Championship will be held at Locust Hill golf course in suburban Rochester, N.Y., for one year next June, with supermarket chain Wegmans replacing McDonald’s as sponsor.

The recession-pinched LPGA Tour is shrinking to 24 tournaments in 2010, down from 34 in 2008.