win over Borussia Moenchengladbach, but fell short of matchi

HOUSTON -- In the never-ending search for early-season trends that might serve as an indicator of long-term behavior, the Houston Rockets followed their fifth loss of the season on Wednesday night with a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers one evening later to avoid suffering their first losing skid on the season.The Rockets (7-5), with a new coach and reconfigured roster, remain in search of consistency. Yet, their ability to rebound from setbacks offers optimism, particularly this week given the disappointment that resonated after their come-from-ahead loss against Oklahoma City. Houston led by as many as 11 points before falling 105-103.Were still fairly new as a team, said Rockets guard James Harden, who followed a season-worst 13-point performance against the Thunder with his third triple-double of the season against Portland. Were still trying to figure each other out. As long as we can bounce back and continue to get better, continue to grow and learn from our mistakes, well be all right.Through victory and defeat the Rockets, who host the Utah Jazz (7-6) on Saturday at Toyota Center, are working to establish their identity. They fancy themselves as a space-and-pace outfit yet they rank a modest 14th in the NBA in pace at 97.2 possessions per 48 minutes. They are fifth in offensive rating and are coming off back-to-back games where seven and six players reached double figures in scoring.With the return of guard Patrick Beverley, Houston aims to improve defensively. What theyve shown through a dozen games is a willingness to work at everything.Were going to make some mistakes and we still have some improving to do, Rockets coach Mike DAntoni said. As long as they come with that attitude every day and work at it and fix their mistakes, then good things will happen.Injuries continue to undermine the Jazz, who followed a successful five-game swing through the Eastern Conference with consecutive home losses. Utah went 4-1 before returning home and dropping games against the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls, with the absences of guard George Hill (thumb) and forward Derrick Favors (knee) looming large.Weve had a lot of guys adjusting to injury, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. Theres a lot of that going on.I dont want to overreact to one player playing poorly or our team playing poorly. That doesnt get you where you want to go.Without Hill, who has missed six games, the Jazz can appear rudderless. Utah was emboldened by the return of forward Gordon Hayward to open their road trip but Hill provides a veteran touch orchestrating the offense that isnt easily replaced.Second-year guard Dante Exum has started the last four games in place of Hill and over the previous six games is averaging nine points and two assists while shooting just 40.8 percent. Prior to his injury, Hill was averaging 20.4 points and five assists.Incidentally, Utah ranks dead last in the NBA in pace at 90.6 possessions per 48. Hill is questionable for a return against the Rockets, but with or without him Utah must find the rhythm it established on the road only to lose it back in Salt Lake City.Were going to go on this two-game road trip and hopefully get the best of that, Exum said.cheap jerseys from china . The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. nfl jerseys china . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. http://www.cheapnfljerseysout.com/ . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. cheap jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. wholesale jerseys . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.MILAN -- In the only group on Tuesday where qualification for the Champions League knockout stages was still to be decided, Besiktas crumbled under the pressure, allowing Napoli and Benfica to progress.Napoli and Benfica had eight points going into their Group B match, one more than Besiktas, which was playing at already eliminated Dynamo Kiev.However, the Turkish side fell to a shock 6-0 defeat in a match which saw it finish with nine men. Napoli won 2-1 at Benfica to win a Champions League group for the first time.We had already been burned once by looking at the result of the other match, said Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri, whose team had squandered earlier chances to qualify for the last 16. So, it really hardly mattered to us what was happening in Kiev. We wanted first place to make Napoli history.Elsewhere, Arsenal topped Group A following its 4-1 win at Basel after Paris Saint-Germain could only draw 2-2 at home to Ludogorets.Atletico Madrid had already secured first place in Group D but lost its perfect record in a 1-0 defeat at Bayern Munich. The final positions in Group C had already been decided and Barcelona beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0, while Manchester City drew 1-1 against Celtic.Heres how Tuesdays action unfolded:---GROUP ALittle-used forward Lucas Perez scored a hat trick as Arsenal easily beat Basel 4-1 to finish top of its group.Getting a rare start, the Spanish forward gave Arsenal a three-goal lead by the 47th minute as the visitors coasted to victory.Mesut Ozils delightful assist let Alex Iwobi score in the 53rd before Basel substitute Seydou Doumbia struck a consolation goal in the 78th.Mistakes cost Paris Saint-Germain dearly as it missed out on top spot in Group A following a late 2-2 home draw with Ludogorets -- an unheralded Bulgarian side that had not won any of the previous five group games.Dutch forward Virgil Misidjan scored in the 15th minute and Brazilian forward Wanderson made it 2-1 in the 68th, shortly after Edinson Cavani had leveled for PSG.Winger Angel Di Maria saved face for PSG in the second minute of injury time with a scuffed shot, and Cavani was desperately close to grabbing the winner in the final seconds.---GROUP BIt was meant to be a battle to advance in Lisbon but it turned out to be a shootout for top spot as Besiktas collapsed in Ukraine.Napoli won 2-1 at Benfica but both teams qualified for the knockout stage after Besiktas fell to a suurprise 6-0 thrashing at Dynamo Kiev.ddddddddddddSubstitute Dries Mertens changed the match after coming on in the 57th. The Belgium international set up the opener for Jose Callejon on the hour mark before securing the win in the 79th.Napoli gifted Benfica a consolation goal three minutes from time when Raul Albiol was caught napping, allowing Raul Jimenez to seize the moment and fire past Reina.In Ukraine, Dynamos star winger Andriy Yarmolenko started the nights torment for Besiktas with smart footwork on the byline and a cross to the far post for Artyom Besedin to score the ninth-minute opener.Besiktas looked lively for the next 20 minutes until defender Andreas Beck was dismissed for a collision with Derlis Gonzalez, who was through on goal for Dynamo. Yarmolenko scored the resulting penalty and Vitaliy Buyalskiy soon made it 3-0 with a lobbed effort after a Besiktas defensive mix-up.A deflected shot from Gonzalez provided Dynamos fourth in first-half stoppage time. Serhiy Sydorchuk and Junior Moraes added to the scoreline after Besiktas striker Vincent Aboubakar was red-carded for a second offense.---GROUP CLionel Messi opened the scoring in Barcelonas 4-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach, but fell short of matching Cristiano Ronaldos goal record in the group stage of the Champions League.Messi struck his 10th group-stage goal this season, one less than the 11 netted by Ronaldo with Real Madrid last season to set the record.Arda Turan scored a second-half hat trick.Kelechi Iheanacho began his month-long stint as Sergio Agueros replacement by scoring Manchester Citys equalizer in a 1-1 draw against Celtic.Iheanacho drove a rising shot into the roof of the net in the eighth minute to cancel out a fourth-minute goal by winger Patrick Roberts, who is four months into his second straight season-long loan at Celtic from City.---GROUP DRobert Lewandowski curled in a spectacular free kick to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid but the Spanish side still won the group, finishing with 15 points to Bayerns 12.Bayerns win stretched its record to 15 straight Champions League home victories and ended Atleticos hopes of winning all six group matches.By holding PSV Eindhoven to a 0-0 draw, newcomer Rostov clinched third spot and a place in the Europa League. ' ' '