Brodeur wins No. 100; Devils top Panthers

NHL: Martin Brodeur stopped 24 shots for his 100th postseason win, and a three-goal first period was enough to help the New Jersey Devils spoil the Florida Panthers’ long-awaited return to the Stanley Cup playoffs in a 3-2 victory Friday night in Sunrise, Fla.

Brodeur became the second goalie in NHL history to reach triple figures in playoff wins. Patrick Roy has 151.

Florida was in its first playoff game since losing to Brodeur and the Devils in 2000.

Other playoff games: Ian White and Cory Emmerton scored in the first period, and the Detroit Red Wings evened their series at 1-1 with the Nashville Predators with a 3-2 victory at Nashville, Tenn. … Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux each scored three goals and the Philadelphia Flyers rallied for a wild 8-5 victory over the host Pittsburgh Penguins to take a 2-0 series lead. … Dustin Brown had his first three-goal game in the playoffs, Jonathan Quick made 46 saves and the Los Angeles Kings beat the top-seeded Vancouver Canucks 4-2 at Vancouver, British Columbia, to take a 2-0 lead.

New Orleans Saints owner buys Hornets

NBA: The Saints say the NFL team’s owner, Tom Benson, has bought the New Orleans Hornets from the NBA for a reported $338 million. The NBA has been trying to sell the Hornets since buying the club from founder George Shinn in December 2010.

• Lakers clinch berth without Bryant, coach: Andrew Bynum had 30 points and eight rebounds, Matt Barnes added a season-high 24 points, and the host Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth without Kobe Bryant or coach Mike Brown, holding off the Denver Nuggets 103-97. The Lakers have won three of four without Bryant. The NBA scoring leader is resting a bruised shin. Los Angeles also played without Brown, who left Staples Center shortly before tipoff for undisclosed personal reasons.

• Magic’s Howard has herniated disc: The Atlanta Hawks beat Orlando 109-81 at Orlando, Fla., as the Magic lost their second straight and fell to 1-4 without center Dwight Howard, who sat for the fifth time in seven games with what was diagnosed as a herniated disc in his lower back. There is no timetable for his return.

• Other NBA highlights: Danny Granger scored 18 points to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83 at Indianapolis and clinch a playoff berth. … The Milwaukee Bucks pulled away from the host Detroit Pistons for a much-needed 113-97 win. The Bucks are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, trailing by two games in the race for the playoffs. … The Miami Heat whipped the visiting Charlotte Bobcats 105-82 without Dwyane Wade, out with ankle injury. He is expected back for Miami’s next game on Sunday.

Eric Gordon scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and the New Orleans Hornets handed the Utah Jazz a critical 96-85 loss at Salt Lake City. The Jazz are 10th in the Western Conference, 1 1/2 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. … The Phoenix Suns moved into the ninth spot in the West with a 112-105 win over the host Houston Rockets, who are tied for the seventh and eighth spots with Denver, 1 1/2 games back of Dallas. … Dirk Nowitzki had 24 points and nine rebounds, Delonte West added 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the host Portland Trail Blazers 97-94.

Syracuse coach accuser says he lied

College basketball: A Maine man says he lied when he accused former Syracuse men’s assistant coach Bernie Fine of molesting him.

Zachary Tomaselli of Lewiston said he is a “habitual liar and sociopath.”

Two other men made accusations against Fine, but prosecutors say too much time had passed to consider charges related to their allegations.

Fine has not been charged and has denied the abuse claims. Tomaselli begins serving a prison sentence next week for molesting a boy in Maine.

• LSU hires Jones: LSU hired North Texas men’s coach Johnny Jones for the same position with the Tigers. He replaces Trent Johnson, who left LSU after four seasons to become TCU’s head coach.

• Tennessee State promotes Williams: Tennessee State promoted assistant Travis Williams to head coach as the Tigers’ 16th men’s head coach, replacing John Cooper who left for Miami (Ohio).

• Two declare for draft: Connecticut freshman center Andre Drummond and Florida freshman guard Bradley Beal declared for the NBA draft.

Knost takes 2-stroke lead in PGA event

Golf: Colt Knost shot a 66 to take a two-stroke lead over Carl Pettersson after the second round of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

• Triplett three back in his first Champions Tour tourney: Bruce Fleisher shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Encompass Insurance Pro-Am in Lutz, Fla.

Former Pullman resident Kirk Triplett shot a 68 in his first Champions Tour round.

Brent Sutter to coach Canada in Worlds

Hockey: Former Calgary Flames coach Brent Sutter was hired as Canada’s head coach for the world championships, a day after parting ways with the NHL team.

U.S., Canada in women’s title game: Kelli Stack scored three goals and three-time defending world champion United States beat Switzerland 10-0 in Burlington, Vt., to set up a title game today against Canada, which beat Finland 5-1.

Bales leaving WNBA for medical school

Miscellany: Atlanta Dream center Alison Bales announced her retirement from the WNBA to attend medical school and pursue a career as a physician. Bales played at Duke and was the ninth overall pick in 2007 by the Indiana Fever.

• Texans sign two linebackers: The Houston Texans signed unrestricted free agent and former Dallas linebacker Bradie James and re-signed Tim Dobbins.

• Sturm outboxes Zbik: Felix Sturm retained the WBA middleweight title after fellow German boxer Sebastian Zbik retired before the 10th round in Cologne, Germany.

• Ex-Auburn player convicted of robbery: Ex-Auburn football player Antonio Goodwin was convicted in Opelika, Ala., of first-degree robbery in an armed home invasion in which three of his teammates also were charged.

First-degree robbery carries a likely sentence of 20 years to life in prison. Goodwin’s former teammates Mike McNeil, who was the starting safety on Auburn’s 2010 national title team, Dakota Moseley and Shaun Kitchens are tentatively scheduled for trial on June 11.