In brief: Furyk ends long drought with victory

Golf: Jim Furyk showed the nerves of a player trying to win for the first time on the PGA Tour. Considering how long it had been since his last victory, it felt that way at Palm Harbor, Fla.

Furyk closed with a 2-under-par 69 Sunday for a one-shot victory over K.J. Choi in the Transitions Championship, his first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open to end his longest winless stretch since he first joined the tour 16 years ago.

He did just enough right on the back nine of Innisbrook that he could afford a few mistakes down the stretch, and he nearly made a whopper.

With a two-shot lead on the 18th hole of the Copperhead course, Furyk drove into the trees, nearly took out NBC reporter Roger Maltbie with his next shot and needed a good lag from 30 feet to secure a bogey.

Furyk finished at 13-under 271 and won for the 14th time in his career, moving to No. 6 in the world.

Suns beat Blazers for 4th straight win

NBA: Jared Dudley scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter and Grant Hill hit two key baskets, lifting the Suns to a 93-87 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Phoenix for their fourth straight win.

The loss ended Portland’s five-game winning streak and left the Blazers in eighth place in the Western Conference.

Phoenix, meanwhile, moved into a virtual fifth-place tie with Oklahoma City.

•Rockets top Knicks in first matchup since McGrady deal: Aaron Brooks scored seven straight points down the stretch and the Houston Rockets got strong efforts from the players they got for Tracy McGrady to beat the host New York Knicks 116-112.

Kevin Martin, acquired by the Rockets from Sacramento in the three-team deal that sent McGrady to New York, led Houston with 28 points. Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries, who went from the Knicks to the Rockets, played key roles down the stretch.

McGrady finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes, but was scoreless in the fourth.

•Wizards drop 11th in row: Kobe Bryant scored 20 of his 24 points on a variety of jump shots during a dynamic second quarter, and the Lakers sent the Washington Wizards to their 11th straight loss, 99-92 in Los Angeles. Pau Gasol had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers, who won their sixth straight after a three-game skid.

Selanne scores 600th NHL goal in victory

NHL: Teemu Selanne became the 18th player in NHL history to score 600 goals, scoring 34 seconds into the second period during a power play in the Anaheim Ducks’ 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim, Calif.

•Coyotes beat Stars for 9th straight win: Adrian Aucoin scored in the fourth round of the shootout and the Phoenix Coyotes matched a franchise record with their ninth straight victory, 3-2 over the Dallas Stars on the road.

Minnesota Duluth takes championship

Women’s hockey: Jessica Wong scored late in the third overtime to lift Minnesota Duluth to a 3-2 victory over Cornell in the NCAA Women’s Frozen Four championship game at Minneapolis.

Wong redirected a shot by Tara Gray in front of the Cornell net, and the puck trickled past Big Red goaltender Amanda Mazzotta, ending the longest title game in college women’s hockey history. Minnesota Duluth (31-8-2) won its fifth national title in the 10 years that the NCAA has awarded a women’s hockey championship.

Ljubicic ousts Roddick to win

Tennis: Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia outlasted Andy Roddick 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5) in a battle of big servers to win the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., earning his first ATP Masters 1000 title after three runner-up finishes.

Jelena Jankovic had a much easier time in the women’s final, defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-2, 6-4 for her first title in seven months.

Report: Houston’s Penders to resign

Miscellany: The Houston Chronicle is reporting basketball coach Tom Penders will resign.

Citing an unidentified source, the newspaper reported Penders’ decision to step down came after a meeting with athletic director Mack Rhoades. The Chronicle says Penders will announce his resignation today.

•Schleper, Ford take slalom titles: Olympians Sarah Schleper and Tommy Ford won slalom titles at the U.S. Alpine Championships at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington, N.Y.

Schleper used an early start in the opening run to establish a lead of nearly 0.8 seconds over Erin Mielzynski of Canada in soft snow conditions near Lake Placid.

Ford came out of sixth place after the first run, blasted through the second course with the fastest time, and grabbed his first two national titles on the day after his 21st birthday.

•Korir defends L.A. Marathon: Wesley Korir successfully defended his title at the Los Angeles Marathon at Santa Monica, Calif., while Edna Kiplagat won the women’s event and a gender challenge bonus of $100,000.

Korir, a native of Kenya living in Louisville, Ky., broke away from Paul Samoei and Richard Limo in the 25th mile Sunday to win in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 19 seconds, the third-best time in the event’s 25-year history.

•Dodgers release Gagne: Former Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne has been granted his release by the Los Angeles Dodgers.