LAS VEGAS (AP) — Martin Necas celebrated his new contract with a goal and two assists, helping the Colorado Avalanche beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Friday.

Necas, who signed a $92 million, eight-year extension on Thursday, scored his eighth goal of the season 41 seconds into the game.

Cale Makar had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, extending his point streak to six games. Brock Nelson and Brent Burns also scored, and Scott Wedgewood made 21 saves.

The 40-year-old Burns moved past Bobby Orr into 11th place among defensemen with 916 career points.

Tomas Hertl and Mitch Marner each had a goal and an assist for the Golden Knights, and rookie goalie Carl Lindbom stopped 22 shots.

Vegas’ offense once again struggled on the power play without captain Mark Stone, who is on injured reserve with an apparent wrist injury. The Golden Knights went 0 for 6 with the man advantage and are 1 for 19 without Stone; they were 9 of 24 with him in the lineup.

Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy even used his timeout at 2:06 of the third period to try to take advantage of a 5-on-3. Hertl scored shortly afterward, though at 4 on 4.

They are far from the first team to struggle with Colorado's aggressive penalty kill. The Avalanche have killed off 18 consecutive penalties and 29 of 30 overall.

Up next

Avalanche: At San Jose on Saturday.

Golden Knights: Host Detroit on Tuesday.

Grant hits free throws with 1.4 seconds left and Blazers beat Nuggets 109-107

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Jerami Grant made a pair of free throws with 1.4 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied for a 109-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night in the NBA Cup opener for both teams.

Denver led 81-71 going into the fourth quarter. With 27.7 seconds left and the Nuggets in front 107-105, Grant hit a pair of free throws for the Blazers to tie it.

After a scramble on the other end, Shaedon Sharpe blocked Aaron Gordon’s jumper and the Nuggets were called for a shot clock violation, giving Portland the ball with three seconds left.

A foul was called on Gordon and Grant made the free throws. Nikola Jokic missed a 13-foot jumper as the clock ran out.

Jokic had 21 points and 14 rebounds but fell just short of his fifth straight triple double to open the season with nine assists. Jokic went into the game tied with Oscar Robertson (1961-62) and Russell Westbrook (2020-21) for most consecutive triple-doubles to start the season with four.

Grant had 16 points off the bench for the Blazers, who won their third straight. Deni Avdija led Portland with 23 and Sharpe had 19.

Jamal Murray added 22 points for the Nuggets. The loss snapped Denver's three- game winning streak.

Murray was questionable with left calf soreness but started and the Nuggets went up 30-18 on his layup. Avdija's layup tied it for Portland at 41 but the Nuggets went into halftime with a 57-53 lead.

The Blazers briefly pulled in front 68-67 on Kris Murray's layup before Denver's 9-0 run to end the third quarter for a 10-point lead.

There was a lengthy delay at the end of the first quarter because of a shot clock malfunction at the Moda Center.

Up Next

The Nuggets host the Kings on Monday.

The Trail Blazers host the Lakers on Monday.

Denver joining the West Coast Conference, which is looking to expand to 12 schools

SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) — The University of Denver is joining the West Coast Conference.

The league’s presidents’ council on Friday approved Denver’s admittance beginning July 1, 2026. Denver is a current member of the Summit League.

Denver joins UC San Diego in moving to the WCC in recent months. The conference will have 10 competing members during the 2026-27 academic year, including Denver, and 11 beginning in 2027-28 when UC San Diego becomes official.

“The University of Denver is a superb addition to the growing constellation of top-flight schools in the West Coast Conference,” said Christopher Callahan, the chair of the WCC’s presidents’ council.

Callahan added that “we look forward to setting our sights on recruiting” a 12th school to the league.

Callahan praised the addition of Denver, calling it an academically strong university with a championship-winning pedigree in athletics. It brings the WCC another major media market “while keeping true to our geographic profile” and “ensuring our student-athletes are not burdened with excessive travel," he said.

The conference’s footprint now stretches across 1,200 miles of the western region and covers four states: California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado. The conference has representation in eight of the nine largest metropolitan cities in the West and has seven of the top 30 media markets in the United States in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Denver, Sacramento, Portland and San Diego.

Denver will compete in men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s golf, and men’s and women’s tennis.