ERST LESEN! » t never took the lead.Ball just didnt go in, Th

MADRID -- Wayne Rooney finally made a difference for Manchester United this season, setting up Zlatan Ibrahimovics goal two minutes after being summoned off the bench to help them beat Ukraines Zorya Luhansk 1-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.Inter Milan fell 3-1 at Sparta Prague to lose its second in a row in the European competition, while Mario Balotelli scored again but couldnt prevent Nice from losing at Russian side Krasnodar 5-2. The Italian striker was substituted at halftime with an apparent knee injury.There was mixed reaction at Old Trafford when Jose Mourinho sent in the much-criticized Rooney in the 67th minute, but his misfired shot bounced to the far post, where Ibrahimovic nodded in.Rooney was in good position inside the area after a cross from the right flank, but the ball hit off his knee as he attempted a shot, going across the area toward Ibrahimovic.We deserved to win but it was difficult, Mourinho said. They were very well organized defensively as we expected. We had to play, I wont say amazingly well because we didnt, but we had to play well to win.Mourinho didnt start Rooney after saying he wanted to protect his captain from a media backlash if he had another poor performance.It was a crucial win for United, which was coming off a 1-0 loss at Feyenoord in its Europa League opener. The English side moved off the bottom of Group A. Turkeys Fenerbahce, which defeated Feyenoord 1-0 at home, led by a point after two matches.United controlled possession against Zorya but created very few scoring chances, with the best early on when Marcus Rashford struck the crossbar.SPARTA 3, INTER 1Inter Milans opening loss to Hapoel Beer-Sheva became less shocking when it fell at Sparta Prague and dropped to last in Group K.A three-time champion, Inter has lost four straight in European competitions. It arrived boosted by a come-from-behind win over Juventus in Serie A, but produced another poor performance in European competition at Generali Arena.We werent focused, Inter coach Frank de Boer said. We made too many mistakes, giving easy balls to our opponents. We need to get a lot better in that regard, otherwise were going to find every match very difficult.Forward Vaclav Kadlec scored twice in the first half for Sparta, which moved to second place in the group. Hapoel and Southampton, which drew 0-0 in Israel, lead by one point. Inter has yet to earn a point.Striker Rodrigo Palacio pulled Inter back into the game with a goal in the 71st, but defender Mario Holek sealed the victory for the hosts just a minute after Inter defender Andrea Ranocchia was sent off in the 75th for a second yellow card.KRASNODAR 5, NICE 2Balotelli scored but Nice lost at Russian side Krasnodar in Group I. To make things worse, the Italian forward was substituted at halftime, apparently because of a knock to his knee while scoring his fifth goal in four games.Brazilian forwards Joaozinho and Ari scored two goals each for Krasnodar, which leads the group with Schalke. The German team beat Salzburg 3-1.OTHER ACTIONGroup G leader Ajax defeated Standard Liege 1-0 to end a run of five consecutive home draws in Europe, while 10-man Shakhtar Donetsk topped Braga 2-0 in Group H. Fiorentina routed Azerbaijans Qarabag 5-1 with three goals in eight minutes just before halftime, including a pair by Senegalese striker Khouma Babacar, and Steaua Bucharest and Villarreal exchanged first-half goals in a 1-1 draw in Romania in Group L.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni Cheap NBA Jerseys Authentic . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Wholesale NBA Jerseys . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. https://www.nbachinajerseys.us/ . -- Catcher Brett Hayes has agreed to a $630,000, one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals, avoiding salary arbitration. Cheap Nike Basketball Jerseys . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Stitched NBA Jerseys . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Patrick Beverley savored getting the best of his rival, Russell Westbrook.Despite a seventh straight triple-double for Westbrook, Beverley and the Houston Rockets beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 102-99 on Friday night.Beverleys history with Westbrook goes back to the 2013 playoffs, when Beverley went after the ball while Westbrook called a timeout. Beverley crashed into Westbrooks knee, and the star guard missed the rest of the postseason with a knee injury.As usual, the Oklahoma City crowd greeted Beverley with boos during pregame introductions Friday.Westbrook finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, but Beverley helped harass him into shooting just 8 for 25.I wont say what I want to say, but yeah, we tried to show bodies and force him into a crowd and make it tough for him, Beverley said.Westbrook gave Beverley no credit.I missed a lot of easy shots, man. Honestly, brother, Westbrook said.With the Thunder down one in the closing seconds, Westbrook had a chance to give Oklahoma City the lead. Beverley was guarding Westbrook with five fouls, but he settled for a 3-pointer and missed.Hes a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good player, Beverley said. We were fortunate to come up with a stop.After Westbrooks missed 3, Houstons Trevor Ariza got the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws with 5.8 seconds left. Oklahoma Citys Anthony Morrow then missed a 3 that would have tied the game.James Harden had 21 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds to help the Rockets win their fifth straight. Houston withstood Hardens 6-for-23 shooting effort.Westbrook owns the longest triple-double streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989. The NBA record is nine in a row by Philadelphias Wilt Chamberlain in March 1968.It was Westbrooks 12th triple-double this season and the 49th of his career. He is the NBAs active leader in the category and ranks sixth all-time.The Thunder had won the previous six games during Westbrooks triplee-double binge.ddddddddddddThe Rockets led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter and took an 86-77 lead into the fourth.Westbrook rested to start the fourth, then re-entered with 8:37 remaining while Clint Capela was at the free throw line. The Thunder trailed by 12 when Westbrook rebounded Capelas miss, and he gave his team a chance.With Houston leading 94-90, Westbrook stole the ball and Ryan Anderson was called for a clear path foul, giving Westbrook two free throws and the Thunder the ball. Westbrook made the free throws, but he missed a fadeaway on the extra possession, and Harden scored on the other end. Oklahoma City got as close as a point, but never took the lead.Ball just didnt go in, Thunder forward Andre Roberson said. Ball just didnt go our way. You have to live with it and go onto the next.TIP-INSRockets: Shot 9 for 28 in the first quarter, yet led 25-23. ... Made 11 of 42 3-pointers. ... Made just 19 of 30 free throws. ... Starting backcourt of Beverley and Harden combined to shoot 7 of 31.Thunder: Committed seven turnovers in the first quarter that led to 10 Rockets points. ... Thunder coach Billy Donovan was called for a technical foul in the second quarter after a no-call against Beverley. ... Steven Adams 17 points in the first half were a career high for a half. He finished with a career-best 24.QUOTABLEBeverley, on Westbrook: The man is a walking triple-double. Hes not frustrated about that. Hes probably frustrated about the loss, of course, but he has been playing well.STAT LINESWestbrook got a triple-double, yet his averages dropped slightly in each category. His averages are now 30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.3 assists. His assist average fell from 11.31 to 11.26.UP NEXTThe Rockets host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday.The Thunder host the Boston Celtics on Sunday.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP. ' ' '