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LEVERKUSEN, Germany -- Manchester United routed Bayer Leverkusen 5-0 on Wednesday to cruise into the knockout stage of the Champions League. Mark Gastineau . Wayne Rooney did not score but played a role in four of Uniteds goals. Antonio Valencia put United ahead in the 22ndminute, Emir Spahics own goal in the 30th doubled Uniteds lead and Jonny Evans got the third in the 65th. Chris Smalling steered home the fourth in the 77th and Nani completed the rout in the 88th. United won 4-2 at home and scored a total of nine goals against a team that sits second in the Bundesliga, but was outplayed on Wednesday. The victory gave United 11 points in Group A before its final match against second-place Shakhtar Donetsk, which beat Real Sociedad 4-0 to move onto eight points. David Harris . Six players scored in double figures for Boston. Rondos double-double was his second straight and fifth overall since he returned from a knee injury on Jan. 17. Jeff Teague had 26 points and DeMarre Carroll scored 24 off the bench for Atlanta, which lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Geno Smith . - Headed for a last-place finish in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers are enjoying the chance to play spoilers.PHILADELPHIA -- Kevin Durant went from a game off to a game to remember. Durant had 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in his return from a shoulder injury to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to their seventh straight win, a 103-91 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Durant was scratched from the Thunders win over Boston on Friday with a sprained right shoulder. Against the Sixers, Durant was one of the first Thunder to hit the court for pregame warm-ups. He dunked several times, even hanging on the rim for several seconds after one, and was fit to play. "I hate sitting out," Durant said, "but it was best for me and my shoulder. I guess that day off was needed." Durant and the Thunder let the Sixers hang around before putting the finishing touches on their ninth straight win over Philadelphia. The Sixers trimmed Oklahoma Citys lead to four in the third quarter before Durant keyed a 14-5 run to open up a comfortable lead. Durant, the NBAs leading scorer, has scored at least 30 points in his last 10 games. Serge Ibaka had 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Thunder. James Anderson led the Sixers with 19 points. Thaddeus Young had 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight steals. Oklahoma City has managed to stay atop the West with Russell Westbrook out since Christmas recovering from right knee surgery. They entered the night with the best record in the Western Conference, one-half game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs. Without Durant, the Thunder still managed to beat Boston 101-83 on Friday night. With him, they had enough to pull away from a plucky Sixers team that already has wins over Miami, Chicago and Portland this season. "We will do our best with some basic things to guard him," Sixers coach Brett Brown said before the game. Durant toyed with the basic defence and hardly missed, throwing down dunks and knocking down easy buckets in the paint, and looked every bit an AAll-Star. Chris Johnson. Durant, averaging 38.2 points over his last 12 games, made 12 of 17 shots for his fifth career triple-double. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks watched from the baseline when Durant warmed up. Durant answered a series of questions from the training staff after every few shots and was soon listed in the starting lineup. The Sixers had one of their largest crowds of the season and the stands were dotted with fans in Durant jerseys who surely would have been crushed had he not played. The Sixers must have wished he sat this one out. "Everybodys scared because hes Kevin Durant and he scores in such a variety of ways," Brown said. "He is the NBAs hottest player. Hes always been an incredibly difficult guard. You blink and hes got a triple-double." Durant sank his only 3 of the game from the top of the arc over Michael Carter-Williams for a 43-34 lead. Carter-Williams had one of the few rough nights of his stellar rookie season. Ibaka stuffed him twice early in the game, setting an early tone for Oklahoma Citys toughness. "Carter-Williams, he really doesnt know what Serge does," Durant said. He does know. Spencer Hawes and the Sixers flirted with an upset after a big rally in the third. Hawes hit a 3, had a big dunk over Thabo Sefolosha and a floating jumper in succession to help trim the gap to 69-65. Durants driving dunk put the Thunder back on track and en route to their fourth win in five nights. "We dont make an excuse," Brooks said, "but it is tough. But these guys, they step up every night." NOTES: 76ers G Tony Wroten returned from a three-game absence because of a sprained right ankle and scored nine points. ... Oklahoma City won its 12th straight road game against the Eastern Conference, and is 13-2 against the East this season. ... Durants triple-double came a night after the 76ers allowed one to Toronto G Kyle Lowry. ' ' ' |
