Sports in brief: Nuggets ride Anthony, Lawson to win
Carmelo Anthony had a game-high 30 points and rookie Ty Lawson scored seven of his 17 points in a pivotal fourth-quarter run, lifting the Denver Nuggets to a 114-105 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night in Denver.
Chauncey Billups scored 25, while Kenyon Martin scored 16 with 11 rebounds for Denver.
Deron Williams led Utah with 28 points and 13 assists.
•Nash rallies Suns: Steve Nash scored 15 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, when he rallied the Phoenix Suns to a 109-107 win over the host Los Angeles Clippers.
•Spurs whip Hornets: Tony Parker scored 17 points before leaving the game after a hard fall and the San Antonio Spurs beat the visiting New Orleans Hornets 113-96.
•Wade on target for Heat: Dwyane Wade began defense of his NBA scoring title with 26 points, Jermaine O’Neal finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Miami Heat rolled to a 115-93 win over the visiting New York Knicks.
•Celtics drub Bobcats: Ray Allen scored 18 and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and seven rebounds over 26 minutes as the Boston Celtics held the Charlotte Bobcats to a franchise-low in scoring with a 92-59 win in Boston.
Former Chief sparks Coyotes’ victory
NHL: Martin Hanzal, Zbynek Michalek and Robert Lang scored power-play goals and former Spokane Chiefs goalie Jason LaBarbera stopped 31 shots in the Phoenix Coyotes’ 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio.
•Crosby ignites Penguins: Sidney Crosby had his third career hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to reach 10 victories this season, snapping the Montreal Canadiens’ four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory in Pittsburgh.
Freeman takes over as Buccaneers QB
NFL: The winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers have changed starting quarterbacks again, with rookie Josh Freeman taking the reins according to coach Raheem Morris.
Freeman, who played at Kansas State, was the 17th pick in the first round of this year’s draft. He made his NFL debut last Sunday, playing two series in the fourth quarter of a 35-7 loss to New England in London.
•Westbrook’s status up in air: Running back Brian Westbrook will be a game-time decision for the Philadelphia Eagles against the New York Giants on Sunday after suffering a concussion in Monday night’s game.
•Goodell defends league: Commissioner Roger Goodell did not acknowledge a connection between head injuries on the field and later brain diseases while defending the league’s policies on concussions before Congress.
That frustrated several members of the House Judiciary Committee, including the committee chairman, Michigan Dem. John Conyers.
McCourt fired wife for having affair
Miscellany: The reinstatement of Jamie McCourt as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ chief executive officer would be “akin to throwing a bomb into a crowded room,” lawyers for Frank McCourt argued in court papers filed Wednesday.
On the day after Jamie McCourt filed for divorce, Frank McCourt said in his filing that he fired his estranged wife for having an affair with her driver and for repeatedly undermining the chain of command by not reporting directly to him.
The attorney for Jamie McCourt said her client is the victim of a “vicious smear campaign” and said she has lined up financing for a possible bid to buy out her husband and own the Dodgers outright.
•Safina injured: Dinara Safina finished the best year of her career with tears in her eyes in Doha, Qatar, as a serious back injury ended her season and her hold on the No. 1 ranking.
Safina lasted just 13 minutes in her first round-robin match of the Sony Ericsson Championships before calling it quits while serving at 1-1 against Jelena Jankovic.
Serena Williams will move up to the No. 1 ranking.
•Sadler will race a Ford: Richard Petty Motorsports is finalizing elements of its 2010 program, beginning this weekend when Elliott Sadler will race a Ford at Talladega Superspeedway.
Team officials familiar with RPM’s personnel moves said sponsor Best Buy will move from Sadler’s car next season to Petty’s famed No. 43 with AJ Allmendinger as the driver.
•Zenyatta will run against the boys: Zenyatta will put her 13-0 record on the line when she runs in the Breeders’ Cup in Arcadia, Calif., most likely against the boys in the $5 million Classic.
A total of 166 horses were pre-entered for the $25.5 million, 14-race Breeders’ Cup world championships at Santa Anita on Nov. 6-7.
•Stanford’s Green suspended: Stanford sophomore guard Jeremy Green has been suspended indefinitely by men’s basketball coach Johnny Dawkins for a violation of team rules.