In brief: Anthony leads Nuggets past Trail Blazers

NBA: Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets were helped by Portland’s trouble at the free-throw line for a 97-94 victory on Thursday night in Portland.

Greg Oden missed a pair of free throws with 4.6 seconds left, squandering a chance for Portland to go ahead. After Oden’s misses, Anthony made a pair and Brandon Roy missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Roy finished with 33 points for the Blazers.

The game was slowed considerably by fouls. Combined, the teams attempted 90 free throws.

Both teams had 54 wins last season, but the Nuggets edged the Blazers out of the Northwest Division title.

•NBA to review Donaghy accusations: The NBA will review accusations by former referee Tim Donaghy that were posted online – even though the publisher is blowing the whistle on the book they were to appear in.

Random House said it won’t go forward with the tell-all Donaghy wrote in prison.

Blackmar, Sluman tied for lead

Golf: Phil Blackmar and Jeff Sluman shot 6-under 66s in breezy conditions to share the first-round lead in the Champions Tour’s season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Sonoma, Calif.

Blackmar had six birdies in a bogey-free round at Sonoma Golf Club. Sluman was even par at the turn, then birdied three of his first four holes on the back nine, eagled the par-5 16th and birdied 17.

Charles Schwab Cup points leader Loren Roberts had two eagles in a 70. Fred Funk, 165 points behind Roberts in second place in the race for the $1 million annuity, had a 71.

•Kim wins two matches: American Anthony Kim won two round-robin matches in the Volvo World Match Play Championship, while fourth-ranked Paul Casey lost twice to drop out of contention for a semifinal spot at Casares, Spain.

Kim topped the Seve Ballesteros Group with four points after beating Casey and Retief Goosen, both 3 and 2, at Finca Cortesin Golf Club. Scott Strange beat Casey, returning from a rib injury, 1-up. Goosen beat Strange 1-up.

•First round suspended at Viking Classic: The first round of the PGA’s Viking Classic was suspended because of impending rain and wet conditions at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss., pushing the tournament into a Monday finish.

Young to start for winless Tennessee

NFL: Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams wants more of Vince Young. He’s getting just that with his winless team switching from veteran Kerry Collins back to the 2006 Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Coach Jeff Fisher announced the expected move following practice for the 0-6 Titans, and Young got the news from his coach in the morning.

“We’re in a unique situation right now. We haven’t won a game. We wouldn’t be having this conversation if we were 3-3,” Fisher said.

That means Young will start Sunday against Jacksonville, the team that helped send him to the bench in the 2008 opener by picking him off twice and spraining his knee. Collins started 20 of the 21 games since then.

•Saints fullback out for season: The New Orleans Saints placed starting fullback Heath Evans on injured reserve, coach Sean Payton said, because of a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tear that occurred in last Sunday’s comeback victory in Miami.

•Giants’ Bradshaw to play despite injury: New York Giants backup running back Ahmad Bradshaw will continue to play this season despite having a cracked bone on his right foot.

Ovechkin continues to come up big

NHL: Alex Ovechkin scored twice to add to his NHL-leading total, Semyon Varlamov stopped a penalty shot and the first-place Washington Capitals held on at the end to hand the Atlanta Thrashers their fourth straight loss, 4-3 in Atlanta.

Ovechkin didn’t get a chance to go against fellow Russian Ilya Kovalchuk. Atlanta’s star sat out his first game since breaking his right foot last weekend.

•Bryzgalov scores another shutout: Ilja Bryzgalov made 32 saves for his NHL-leading third shutout of the season, and Daniel Winnik and Taylor Pyatt scored in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 2-0 victory over the Blues at St. Louis.

•Oilers rally to victory: Patrick O’Sullivan beat Jimmy Howard with a wrist shot in the third round of a shootout to lift host Edmonton past Detroit 6-5.

Serena Williams into semifinal

Miscellany: Serena Williams became the first player to clinch a spot in the semifinals of the WTA Sony Ericsson Championships, defeating Elena Dementieva 6-2, 6-4 for her third straight win in the tournament’s round-robin group phase at Doha, Qatar.

Her sister, Venus, the defending champion, stayed alive by beating Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4 for her first win in three matches. She needs Kuznetsova to beat Dementieva on today to have a chance of advancing.

•U.S. women’s soccer downs Germany: Abby Wambach scored for the United States to beat world champion Germany 1-0 in a friendly at Augsburg, Germany.