LOS ANGELES, Nov. 19 (UPI) –

Rookie James van Riemsdyk scored the decisive goal early in the third period Wednesday, helping the Philadelphia Flyers overcome Los Angeles 3-2.

Van Riemsdyk, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, delivered his sixth goal of the season 1:47 into the final period to give the Flyers a 3-1 lead in the opener of a five-game road trip.

Philadelphia got second-period goals from Mika Pyorala and Mike Richards to overcome a 1-0 deficit.

Brian Boucher gave up a first-period goal to Jarret Stoll and a power-play goal to Drew Doughty with 7:51 remaining in the third but protected the lead the rest of the way.

Boucher, who allowed four goals in his only other start of the season, made 35 saves to get the victory.

Jonathan Quick allowed the three Philadelphia scores on just 20 shots.

See the full post at NHL: Philadelphia 3, Los Angeles 2

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 19 (UPI) –

Steve Blake and Andre Miller each made two free throws in the final 10 seconds Wednesday and Portland fought off a big rally to down Detroit 87-81.

The Trail Blazers owned a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter only to have the Pistons close within two on a tip-in by Charlie Villanueva with 15 seconds to play.

Blake made his foul shots for a four-point lead with 10 seconds left and Miller converted two more with 5 seconds remaining.

Portland bounced back from its first loss in more than two weeks. The Trail Blazers suffered a setback in Atlanta Monday after winning six in a row.

Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge both scored 20 points and Blake had 17 for Portland, which moved into a tie with Denver atop the Northwest Division.

Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 21 points and Villanueva had 20.

See the full post at NBA: Portland 87, Detroit 81

DALLAS, Nov. 19 (UPI) –

Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 of his 41 points in overtime Wednesday, lifting the Dallas Mavericks to a 99-94 victory over San Antonio.

The Mavericks won their fourth straight and improved to 9-3 for the season, the second-best record behind Phoenix in the Western Conference.

Nowitzki scored the final points of regulation on a tip-in with 15 seconds remaining in the fourth period, and then dominated the 5-minute extra period.

He gave Dallas the lead for good at 92-91 on a 3-point play with 2:28 remaining. San Antonio’s Tim Duncan then missed a jumper and Jason Terry hit one for Dallas. After Duncan missed a hook shot, Nowitzki connected on a 3-point attempt to give the Mavericks a 97-91 advantage with 1:19 to go.

Nowitzki made 15-of-29 shots from the field and 10-of-12 from the line. Drew Gooden added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Jason Kidd handed out 12 assists.

Duncan led San Antonio with 22 points and Grant Hill had 15. The Spurs lost the…

See the full post at NBA: Dallas 99, San Antonio 94 (OT)

SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 19 (UPI) –

Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and Deron Williams scored 20 in his return to the lineup Wednesday, carrying the Utah Jazz to a 104-91 win over Toronto.

Boozer also had 18 rebounds. Williams, who rejoined the Jazz after missing two games while his daughter underwent medical tests, added nine assists.

Andrei Kirilenko also scored 20 and Eric Maynor produced nine of his 15 points during a fourth-quarter run. Utah overcame the absence of Mehmet Okur (flu) and Ronnie Price (sprained big toe).

Chris Bosh had 32 points and 17 rebounds for Toronto, losers of three in a row.

The Jazz had only a one-point lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter before going on a 17-2 run.

Toronto has not beaten the Jazz since 2004.

See the full post at NBA: Utah 104, Toronto 91

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 18 (UPI) –

Cole Aldrich had 18 points and 11 rebounds Tuesday and No. 1 Kansas held on to edge Memphis 57-55 in a rematch of the 2008 national championship game.

Sherron Collins scored 12 and Xavier Henry added 11 for Kansas (2-0).

The Tigers (1-1) had a chance to win in the final seconds but a 3-point try by Elliott Williams hit the rim.

Williams, with 21 points, was the only Memphis player in double figures. The Tigers shot 34.5 percent from the field and made only 6-of-25 3-point attempts.

Williams hit a 3-pointer with 16.7 seconds to play to pull the Tigers to within one point. After Collins sank one of two free throws, Williams took the final shot of the game but came up short and Kansas got the rebound.

See the full post at COL BKB: Kansas 57, Memphis 55

NORMAN, Okla., Nov. 18 (UPI) –

Willie Warren had 24 points Tuesday in No. 17 Oklahoma’s 72-61 victory over the University of Louisiana-Monroe.

Tony Crocker had 13 points for the Sooners (2-0), in the 1,500th win in school history and the 150th career win for Coach Jeff Capel.

Tony Hooper led the Warhawks (1-2) with 17 points.

UL-Monroe gave the Sooners an early scare with an 11-0 run that resulted in a 16-8 lead but Oklahoma battled back to take a 27-24 lead at halftime.

The Warhawks were able to take a 39-38 lead near the 6-minute mark of the second half on a layup by Jarvis Hill but the Sooners responded with a 9-0 run and led the rest of the way.

See the full post at NCAA: Oklahoma 72, UL-Monroe 61

EAST LANSING, Mich., Nov. 18 (UPI) –

Durrell Summers scored 21 points and hit two crucial free throws late in the game Tuesday to pace second-ranked Michigan State to a 75-71 win over Gonzaga.

Summers’ foul shots in the closing seconds locked up the win for the Spartans (2-0) after Gonzaga had come with 71-70 with 1:08 to go in the game. Seventeen of Summers’ points came in the second half of the rematch of the classic, three-overtime Gonzaga win over Michigan State in the 2005 Maui Invitational.

Kalin Lucas scored 19 points and Raymar Morgan connected on 10-of-11 from the foul line to finish with 16 points for Michigan State, which had to come back from a 13-point first-half deficit for the home win.

The pesky Bulldogs (1-1) were led by Elias Harris with 17 points and nine boards, while Robert Sacre also had 17 points in defeat.

See the full post at COL BKB: Michigan State 75, Gonzaga 71

NEW YORK, Nov. 18 (UPI) –

Sportswear manufacturer Russell Athletic has agreed to rehire 1,200 Honduran workers it laid off after they unionized, the company announced.

The decision follows pressure by students and officials at U.S. colleges and universities intended to get the company to reinstate the employees, who were let go in January when the company closed the factory where they worked, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Administrators from 89 schools — including Georgetown, UCLA, Boston College, Columbia, Harvard, New York University, Stanford, Michigan and North Carolina — joined in the campaign, called United Students Against Sweatshops, the newspaper said.

As part of the campaign, colleges and universities either suspended or terminated licensing agreements through which Russell made athletic wear bearing school logos. Some of the agreements were worth more than $1 million in sales, the Times said.

The pressure campaign included pickets at NBA games, distribut…

See the full post at Russell will rehire 1,200 union workers

NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 18 (UPI) –

David West’s 24 points helped nail down the first win for New Orleans Hornets Coach Jeff Bower Tuesday in a 110-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers pulled to within 58-55 at 67 seconds into the third quarter but New Orleans responded with a 12-1 run to put the game away, capped by a 3-pointer from David Brown, who finished with 16 points for the Hornets.

Bower, the Hornets’ general manager, took over the coaching duties last week for Byron Scott, who was fired.

Peja Stojakovic scored 15 points for the Hornets, who were again without guard Chris Paul, who sprained an ankle Friday’s against Portland.

Al Thornton poured in 30 points and Baron Davis added 23 for the Clippers, who lost for the fourth time in five games.

See the full post at NBA: New Orelans 110, LA Clippers 102

GLENDALE, Ariz., Nov. 17 (UPI) –

Tampa Bay’s Vincent Lecavalier scored twice and added an assist Monday and the Lightning cruised to a 4-1 win over Phoenix.

Lecavalier got the game’s first and last goals.

Alex Tanguay turned in a goal and assist and Martin St. Louis scored the other Lightning goal on a rebound shot.

Mike Smith, who hadn’t started for two weeks, made 30 saves for Tampa Bay.

Adrian Aucoin scored for the Coyotes, who have lost five of their last seven games.

Phoenix goalie Jason LaBarbera turned back 15 shots.

See the full post at NHL: Tampa Bay 4, Phoenix 1