In brief: Hornets avenge lone loss of season

NBA: David West scored 17 points and stole the ball from Dirk Nowitzki with 2 seconds left to preserve the New Orleans Hornets’ 99-97 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.

After Jason Kidd forced a turnover on an inbound pass, Dallas, trailing 98-97, was trying to set up for a potential winning shot when West stole the ball and made 1 of 2 free throws for the final margin.

• Blazers lose Roy for two games: Portland Trail Blazers guard Brandon Roy will miss the next two games because of a sore left knee.

Reserve helps Vols hold off Missouri St.

Men’s basketball: Trae Golden, playing in place of an injured Melvin Goins, hit a pair of free throws with 7.2 seconds left and No. 24 Tennessee (3-0) beat Missouri State (2-1) 60-56 in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Knoxville, Tenn.

No. 7 Buckeyes use trickery during win

Women’s basketball: Tayler Hill scored 15 points, including a basket that broke a tie in the final minute, and No. 7 Ohio State (3-0) used a fake timeout to steal a three-point play in a 59-55 win over LSU (0-2) at Baton Rouge, La.

The Buckeyes took a three-point lead on an unconventional three-point play. Ohio State coach Jim Foster faked calling a timeout. The LSU players began to go to their bench, but the ball was still live. Alison Jackson made an uncontested layup.

Blue Jackets end Kings’ home streak

Hockey: Rick Nash scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:12 to play, and the Columbus Blue Jackets ended Los Angeles Kings’ perfect home start to the season at eight games with a 5-3 victory at Los Angeles.

• Cowen has two assists in WHL’s loss: Spokane Chiefs captain Jared Cowen assisted on a pair of goals for Team WHL in their 7-6 shootout loss to Team Russia in Game 5 of the Subway Super Series in Kamloops, B.C. The six-game series matches teams from the three leagues in the Canadian Hockey League against Team Russia.

Jaguars pick up former Cougar Hill

NFL: The Jacksonville Jaguars were awarded receiver Jason Hill, a three-year starter at Washington State University, off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers.

Hill, a third-round draft pick in 2007, has 40 career receptions for 413 yards and four touchdowns.

Managers Gardenhire, Black earn honors

Baseball: San Diego’s Bud Black hung on in this race, nudging Cincinnati’s Dusty Baker by one point for N.L. Manager of the Year. Minnesota’s Ron Gardenhire was the clear choice in the A.L., becoming a first-time winner after five times as the runner-up.

Black was selected after guiding San Diego to a 15-game turnaround last season. The Padres finished 90-72 and led the N.L. West until a late, 10-game slump wound up costing them a playoff spot on the final day.

• Marlins sign All-Star Buck: All-Star catcher John Buck and the Florida Marlins finalized an $18 million, three-year contract.

MSU booster outlines payment plan

College football: Mississippi State booster Bill Bell told ESPN.com that he received a payment plan from a man who said he represented Cam Newton’s father that was designed to get the quarterback to sign with the Bulldogs.

Bell, a former Mississippi State player, says Kenny Rogers sent him a text message outlining a payment schedule that included $80,000 on the day Newton signed, $50,000 30 days later and $50,000 30 days after that.

Cam Newton signed with Auburn, now ranked No. 2.

Young player scores winner for Americans

Soccer: Juan Agudelo, who turns 18 next week, became the youngest U.S. player to score in the modern era, giving the Americans a 1-0 win over host South Africa at Cape Town.