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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Blazers rally, ruin Knicks’ home opener

Portland’s Brandon Roy (7) led Trail Blazers to a win over Knicks. (Associated Press)

NBA: Brandon Roy scored 29 points, LaMarcus Aldridge added 20 and the unbeaten Portland Trail Blazers rallied to spoil the New York Knicks’ home opener Saturday night with a 100-95 victory.

Andre Miller had 19 points and 10 assists for the Trail Blazers, who improved to 3-0 by erasing a nine-point deficit in the final 51/2 minutes. Aldridge hit the tiebreaking free throw with 25.5 seconds left, and both he and Miller made two free throws apiece in the final half-minute.

Wilson Chandler finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Knicks, who made only one field goal after taking a 92-83 lead with 5:31 remaining. Amare Stoudemire scored 18 points to lead New York.

Johnson helps Hawks hold off Wizards: Joe Johnson scored 14 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and the Atlanta Hawks remained unbeaten, holding off Washington 99-95 in Atlanta.

The game was tight all the way, but Johnson finally put away the Wizards after struggling the first three quarters. His biggest shot came with less than 31/2 minutes remaining, when he stepped back behind the arc to hit a 3-pointer along the sideline for an 89-84 lead.

Rookie John Wall led the Wizards with 28 points.

• Harrington leads Nuggets past Rockets: Al Harrington scored 28 points, Carmelo Anthony added 24 and the Denver Nuggets beat Houston 107-94 in the Rockets’ home opener.

Luis Scola scored 28 and Kevin Martin added 21 for the Rockets, who are 0-3 for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

Paul, Hornets beat Spurs to open 3-0: Chris Paul scored 25 points and the New Orleans Hornets emerged as the only unbeaten team in the Southwest Division with a 99-90 victory over the host San Antonio Spurs.

David West added 18 points for the Hornets. Manu Ginobili led San Antonio with 23 points and six assists.

Spurs’ Parker signs contract extension: The Spurs signed Tony Parker to a four-year extension worth $50 million, according to Parker’s website.

Parker’s contract marks the Spurs’ third big extension since April, when guard Manu Ginobili signed on for three more years, followed by swingman Richard Jefferson restructuring a new four-year deal.

Avila lifts FC Dallas past Real Salt Lake

MLS playoffs: Eric Avila scored in the 88th minute and FC Dallas beat defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake 2-1 in the first leg of the Western Conference semifinals in Frisco, Texas.

Avila took a pass from David Ferreira and dribbled past two Salt Lake defenders before converting from 15 yards away.

Red Bulls sneak past Earthquakes in first leg: Joel Lindpere scored in the 55th minute and the New York Red Bulls beat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 in the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Santa Clara, Calif.

NHL: Jay McClement recorded his first career hat trick and T.J. Oshie and Brad Boyes scored in the shootout to lead the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Atlanta Thrashers.

St. Louis rallied from a 3-1 deficit with two goals by McClement in a span of 1:46 in the third period. He deflected in a shot from the point by Alex Pietrangelo to tie the game 3-3 with 4:25 left.

Turco bounces back for Hawks in win vs. Wild: Marty Turco bounced back from a benching with 25 saves, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 in St. Paul, Minn.

Troy Brouwer, Duncan Keith and Jake Dowell all scored for the Blackhawks.

Marek Zidlicky’s third-period goal wasn’t enough for the Wild, who got 29 saves from Niklas Backstrom.

• Ellis gets shutout as Lightning beat Coyotes: Dan Ellis stopped 23 shots and recorded his 11th career shutout as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Phoenix Coyotes 3-0 in Glendale, Ariz.

Mattias Ritola, Adam Hall and Steven Stamkos all scored for Tampa Bay.

Kim lone LPGA leader in South Korea event

Golf: South Korea’s Song-Hee Kim finished with her second straight 4-under-par 68 for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Na Yeon Choi in the LPGA Hana Bank Championship at Incheon, South Korea.

Choi also shot a 68 on Sky 72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course. Vicky Hurst was third at 6 under after a 70.

Wendy Ward (Edwall, Wash.) made the cut after a round of 2-under 70, giving her a two-day total of 144.

• Nelson tops Champions Tour leaderboard: Larry Nelson made a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 4-under 67 and a one-stroke lead over Jay Don Blake, Steve Lowery and Chien Soon Lu in the AT&T Championship in San Antonio.

Nelson had a 10-under 132 total on the Oak Hills Country Club course. Blake shot a 64, his best round on the 50-and-over tour. Lowery had a 67, and Chien shot a 68.

Clijsters, Wozniacki advance to WTA final

Miscellany: U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters was unhurt in a “scary” car accident before her match and advanced to the WTA Championships final by defeating Sam Stosur 7-6 (3), 6-1 in Doha, Qatar.

Clijsters said a truck “came out of nowhere” at a roundabout and hit the right front door of her official WTA Tour car. Clijsters said she was not injured, but her manager suffered minor cuts.

Clijsters will face top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki in the season-ending final today. The 20-year-old Dane routed No. 2 Vera Zvonareva 7-5, 6-0 in the other semifinal.

U.S. women top Guatemala in WC qualifying: At Cancun, Mexico, Megan Rapinoe had two goals and an assist to help the United States rout Guatemala 9-0 in Group B play in CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualifying.

Rapinoe gave the Americans a 2-0 lead in the 22nd minute, and added a 40th-minute drive from just above the box to boost the advantage to 5-0.

The Americans will complete the first round against Costa Rica on Monday.

USC plans to build $70 million athletic center: The University of Southern California will construct a $70 million athletics building with new offices and training facilities for the football team.

Construction on the two-story, 110,000-square foot building will begin in Los Angeles in January, finishing in about 18 months. Haden and new USC president Max Nikias say they’ve already begun fundraising efforts.