In brief: Nuggets win, drop Blazers to 8th in West

NBA: Carmelo Anthony scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Denver Nuggets rebound from a tough week to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 109-92 in Denver.

Nene added 22 points and Chauncey Billups 21 for the Nuggets, who won for only the second time in a seven-game stretch that saw them drop from second to fifth in the Western Conference playoff race.

Andre Miller scored 24 points to lead Portland, which had won its four previous games, including a win over New York on Wednesday that clinched a spot in the playoffs. The loss pushed the Blazers to eighth in the Western Conference.

Martell Webster added 17 points and LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 for Portland, which lost for the 13th time in its last 14 games in Denver. Portland’s only win in that span came on Dec. 16, 2007.

Dayton takes down Tar Heels for NIT title

College men: Dayton denied last year’s national champs another title and took home one of its own for the first time in 42 years.

Marcus Johnson scored 20 points and the Flyers handed North Carolina (20-17) one more disheartening loss at the end of a lousy season, beating the Tar Heels 79-68 to win the NIT in New York.

Reserve guard Paul Williams added 16 points for No. 3 seed Dayton (25-12), which bounced back from a disappointing regular season to capture its third NIT title and first since 1968.

Picked to win the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Flyers faded late and missed the NCAA tournament before turning things around and ending on a high note.

•Scheyer, Butler among candidates: Jon Scheyer of Duke and Da’Sean Butler of West Virginia are among 10 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award as men’s college basketball player of the year.

The other finalists are John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins of Kentucky, James Anderson of Oklahoma State, Sherron Collins of Kansas, Wesley Johnson of Syracuse, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, Evan Turner of Ohio State, and Greivis Vasquez of Maryland.

•Bryant ‘unlikely’: West Virginia coach Bob Huggins says it’s “highly unlikely” point guard Darryl “Truck” Bryant will be able to play Saturday’s Final Four game against Duke.

The sophomore had hoped a specially-designed shoe would ease some of the pain in his broken right foot. But in a news conference Thursday, Huggins said he would be shocked if Bryant played.

Stadler, Percy on top in Houston Open

Golf: Kevin Stadler and Cameron Percy shot 5-under-par 67s to share the first-round lead in the Houston Open in Humble, Texas.

Vaughn Taylor, James Driscoll, Kevin Sutherland and Anthony Kim all sit a stroke back of the leaders.

Ferris High graduate Alex Prugh shot a first-round 70 and is tied for 16th place.

•Pettersen up early: Suzann Pettersen shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the Kraft Nabisco Championship in Rancho Mirage, Calif., to take a one-stroke lead over former champion Lorena Ochoa, who missed birdie putts on her final two holes.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 78 on the day and is tied for 97th place.

Shootout win earns Senators playoff spot

NHL: Alex Kovalev and Jason Spezza scored in a shootout to cap Ottawa’s dramatic 4-3 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Ottawa.

Erik Karlsson scored his second goal of the game with 7.7 seconds remaining in regulation to draw the Senators even at 3.

Forward Ching hurt in Dynamo’s 2-1 win

Soccer: Brad Davis scored on two penalties to give Houston a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake in Houston in a game marred by an injury to United States forward and former Gonzaga Bulldog Brian Ching of the Dynamo.

Ching, a candidate to start up front for the U.S. in the World Cup, went down in the 28th minute with a strained left hamstring after sliding while going for a loose ball with RSL’s Nat Borchers on the end line.

•MLS adds designated player: Hoping to spark interest by adding high-priced stars, Major League Soccer will allow each team to sign at least two “designated players” whose salaries can significantly exceed the salary budget.

Barcelona’s Thierry Henry and Real Madrid’s Raul Gonzalez, who both have seen dwindling playing time this season, are among the players MLS is thought to be interested in adding during the summer transfer window, possibly for the New York Red Bulls.

Clijsters, Williams set for Sony finals match

Tennis: Venus Williams sashayed into the final at the Sony Ericsson Open with some dance steps after winning her 15th match in a row, beating Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4 in Key Biscayne, Fla.

Williams will likely face more formidable opposition Saturday when she plays No. 14-seeded Kim Clijsters, who edged fellow Belgian Justine Henin 6-2, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6).

On the men’s side tonight, No. 6 Andy Roddick faces No. 4 Rafael Nadal in a semifinal, and No. 16 Tomas Berdych and No. 5 Robin Soderling square off in the other.