In brief: Blazers beat Thunder, tie for sixth place

NBA: Andre Miller scored 26 points, Brandon Roy added 20 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat host Oklahoma City 92-87 on Sunday night to move into a tie with the Thunder for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City trailed by as many as nine in the fourth quarter but had a chance to tie in the final seconds. Kevin Durant’s 3-pointer with about 7 seconds left came up short, and Miller hit two free throws with 4.6 remaining to ice it.

The Blazers have won 11 of their last 13 games to strengthen their position in the West playoff race.

Durant finished with 29 points for Oklahoma City.

•Cavs crown Kings: LeBron James scored 23 of his 34 points in the second half, Antawn Jamison added 26 and the Cleveland Cavaliers welcomed back adored center Zydrunas Ilgauskas with a 97-90 victory over the ailing and aching Sacramento Kings at home.

With Cleveland leading by four, James made a crucial 3-pointer with 2:02 left and then had a rebound and steal to help seal it for the Cavs, who have won 28 straight games against teams with losing records. Cleveland went 10-0 against the Pacific Division.

Beno Udrih had his first career triple-double (18 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds) for the Kings, who because of injuries dressed only eight players.

•Heat rally to defeat Raptors: Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, and the Miami Heat rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat the visiting Toronto Raptors 97-94.

Miami outscored Toronto 19-7 in the final 6:12, taking the lead for good at 91-89 on Carlos Arroyo’s jumper with 59 seconds remaining. He made it a four-point game with two free throws with 22 seconds remaining.

Chris Bosh led Toronto with 19 points.

Flames get much-needed win

NHL: Miikka Kiprusoff made 31 saves and the Calgary Flames, desperate for wins as they chase a playoff spot, salvaged a three-game road trip that began with two losses by beating the Washington Capitals 5-3 on the road.

The Flames moved within four points of eighth-place Colorado and within five of seventh-place Los Angeles in the Western Conference, pending the result of Colorado’s game later Sunday.

Alex Ovechkin got his 46th goal for Washington and also had an assist to reach the 100-point mark for the fourth time in his five-year career.

•Tkachuk snaps tie with birthday goal: Keith Tkachuk scored the winning goal on his 38th birthday, and the St. Louis Blues maintained slim playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at home.

Tkachuk’s 13th goal of the season was his first in 15 games. It snapped a 1-1 tie 7:36 into the third period. Tkachuk has 54 points in 63 career games against Edmonton.

•Crosby-Ovechkin matchup possible in Winter Classic: Pittsburgh is making a strong push to play host to the NHL’s next Winter Classic on Jan. 1, matching the league’s two signature stars in the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin at Heinz Field.

The Penguins played in the first Winter Classic played on U.S. ice in Buffalo in 2008, but the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry has become so big that the NHL is believed to be favoring a second Penguins appearance in four years.

Appalachian State wins WBI title

College women: Ashlen Dewart had 21 points and nine rebounds and Appalachian State rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Memphis 79-71 at Boone, N.C., to win the first Women’s Basketball Invitational.

Chakeitha Weldon added 15 points for the Mountaineers (23-12), who forced 23 turnovers in their eighth straight home win.

Brittany Carter scored 31 points in 27 minutes for the Tigers (20-14).

BC advances to Frozen Four

College Hockey: Cam Atkinson had three goals and Carl Sneep scored a 170-foot short-handed goal to help Boston College beat Yale 9-7 in the Northeast Regional final at Worchester, Mass., for its ninth trip to the Frozen Four in 13 seasons.

John Muse made 32 saves for the Eagles (27-10-3), looking for their third national title since 2001. Boston College matched the regional record for goals in a game and the teams set a regional record for combined goals.

•Hirschfeld sends Miami to Frozen Four: Alden Hirschfeld scored at 1:54 of the second overtime to give top-seeded Miami of Ohio a 3-2 victory over Michigan in the NCAA Midwest Regional final at Fort Wayne, Ind., sending the RedHawks to the Frozen Four for the second straight year.

Hirschfeld picked the puck up at the top of the right circle, turned and fired it past goalie Shawn Hunwick.

Rochester Institute of Technology and Wisconsin have already advanced.

Armstrong-Contador no match this time

Cycling: Lance Armstrong didn’t put up much of a fight in his first faceoff this year with rival Alberto Contador.

The Texan placed 47th in the two-day Criterium International at Porto Vecchio, Corsica, won by Pierrick Fedrigo of France, but was not disappointed: the race was more about testing his legs than his competitors.

•Clancy wins men’s omnium: England’s Edward Clancy won the men’s omnium in one of the final races of the track cycling world championships, with Taylor Phinney of the U.S. finishing third at Ballerup, Denmark.

U.S. women beat Mexico again

Miscellany: Amy Rodriguez and Shannon Boxx scored first-half goals as the United States increased its unbeaten streak against Mexico to 24 matches with a 3-0 win at San Diego.

•Gamboa retains WBA featherweight title: Yuriorkis Gamboa of Cuba has retained his WBA featherweight title with a unanimous decision over Jonathan Victor Barros of Argentina at Hamburg.

Gamboa is undefeated in 18 fights, but had to go to the distance for the first time in handing Barros his first defeat in 30 bouts.

•Texas takes team title at NCAA men’s swimming: Matt Cooper and Drew Livingston provided Texas enough points in the platform diving competition for the Longhorns to win the team title at the NCAA men’s swimming and diving championships at Columbus, Ohio.

Cooper finished third and Livingston seventh for a total of 28 points, giving Texas 500 to 469 1/2 for California, which won the 400-yard freestyle over the Longhorns in the final event.

•Endorsement shocks field: Endorsement pulled ahead of heavy favorite Conveyance on the final stretch for an upset victory in the $800,000 Sunland Derby at Sunland Park, N.M.