BARCELONA, Spain -- Diego Costa became a one-man wrecking crew to lead Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 home win over Valencia on Sunday, scoring two second-half goals and earning a pair of penalties to ensure Diego Simeones side retained its share of the Spanish league lead with Barcelona. The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. He used a burst of speed capped with a stinging strike to beat goalkeeper Diego Alves on a counterattack for the 59th-minute opener. Raul Garcia went on in the 61st for David Villa to reinforce Atleticos midfield and two minutes later fired in a loose ball. Another charge into the area earned Diego Costa his first of two penalties when Victor Ruiz brought him down, only for Diego Alves to save his spot kick in the 74th. But Diego Costa again forced defender Antonio Barragan to foul him as he penetrated the box. This time he blasted the ball over the goalie in the 81st, sealing Atleticos eighth win in as many league games at Vicente Calderon Stadium. "We just go forward game by game," Diego Costa said. "We know that it will be very tough and the league is long, but we will keep fighting to keep this going." Atleticos title challenge gains strength with each passing round as it keeps pace with defending champion Barcelona and has crosstown Real Madrid trailing by five points. It has allowed a league-low nine goals and has found its scorer in Diego Costa, helped by Villa and Garcia, who have combined for another 15 goals in league play. "I always want more," Simeone said. "I dont want my team to be passive. I want the team to always push and never be satisfied. It is very tough to keep up with Barcelona, its numbers are stratospheric." Elsewhere, Real Sociedads promising playmaker Ruben Pardo set up three goals to mastermind a 5-1 rout of bottom side Real Betis. Sociedad may have flopped out of the Champions League, but has found its form in the domestic competition where it has won six of its last eight games and climbed into sixth place and the Europa League positions. The hosts overwhelmed Betis on the league debut of coach Juan Carlos Garrido, who replaced the fired Pepe Mel. The Seville-based side is now winless in the last nine rounds. Pardo passed for two goals by striker Imanol Agirretxe and another from defender Jon Ansotegi. Antoine Griezmann scored his 10th goal in the league this season, leaving him third overall behind Diego Costa and Ronaldo. Xabi Prieto rounded out the victory. "Its clear this is the way we need keep playing to go forward and not relax at any moment," said the 21-year-old Pardo, who was given an ovation when substituted late. "Everyone loves being applauded and for people to scream your name, but I am staying calm. I need to keep working to please our fans and, above all, help the team." Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Sevilla to remain in fourth place and the last Champions League spot, but eight points adrift of Madrid. Almeria settled for a 0-0 draw at home against Espanyol after its coach was ejected from the dugouts and Jose "Verza" Garcia missed a penalty he had to repeat in the first half. Verza missed a 23rd-minute penalty he had to repeat after Almeria teammate Oscar Diaz had entered the area during his first attempt, which he converted. Almeria coach Francisco Rodriguez was ejected during a scuffle between both teams near the dugouts in the 32nd. Ni... 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Nike Free 3.0 Flyknit Blanc . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. HOUSTON -- Since signing with Houston this summer, Dwight Howard has been telling everyone that Terrence Jones had a chance to be a very good player. Lately, Jones has been making his new teammate look pretty smart. Jones had a career-high 36 points and 11 rebounds, and the Rockets led from the start in a 114-104 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. "Hes been doing an excellent job," Howard said. "Hes still growing as a player and hes learning the game at a very fast pace, which is great." Jones had 25 points by halftime, matching his previous career-best set on Wednesday, and James Harden added 22 points. The second-year player has averaged 22.25 points in Houstons four games this week. "I was just trying to offensive rebound and do all the little things Ive been doing," said Jones, who had six offensive boards. "It was just coming to me tonight." Houston led by 17 points before the Bucks got within six points in the third quarter. The Rockets responded with a big run to extend the lead and hold on for the victory. Brandon Knight scored 26 points with seven assists for the NBA-worst Bucks, who have dropped eight in a row. Jones received a standing ovation when he grabbed a rebound off a missed 3-pointer by O.J. Mayo and dribbled by him with a slick spin move before driving into the lane and finishing with an off-balance layup to push the lead to 112-97 with about 2 1/2 minutes remaining. "From a physical standpoint he outmuscled us," Milwaukee coach Larry Drew said of Jones. "We knew we had to slow down Dwight and slow down James Harden and defend those guys at the 3-point line, but you dont factor in a guy like that having that type of game." Howard added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Rockets, Aaron Brooks had 10 points and four assists and Jones also had two blocks, a steal and an assist. John Henson had 20 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee and Luke Ridnour added 14 points. Houston led by 13 points with about 7 minutes left in the third quarter when Milwaukee went on a 9-2 run thanks to two 3-pointers by Knight and one by Ersan&nbbsp;Ilyasova to cut the lead to 75-69.dddddddddddd The Rockets were up by seven soon after that when they scored nine straight points to push the lead to 89-73. Harden got that spurt going with a layup before Howard made two free throws before sinking a rare 3. The 6-foot-11 Howard, who often jokes that he should be allowed to shoot more 3s, smiled broadly and pointed at his teammates as he trotted down the court after hitting the long shot. It was his second 3 this season and the fourth of his nine-year career. The Bucks had three turnovers during that Houston run before ending their offensive drought by scoring the next five points. But Brooks swiped the ball from Knight after that, passed it to Harden, who finished with a two-handed slam to leave Houston up 91-78 entering the final period. The Rockets bounced back from a tough loss to Oklahoma City on Thursday night in which they set an NBA record for the largest scoring differential between two halves by scoring 73 points in the first half and a franchise-low 19 after halftime. Theyd matched the 19 points they scored then with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter en route to a 62-52 halftime lead. Jones had five dunks in the first half and scored four points in the last 33 seconds of the half, capped by a nifty put back with 1.3 seconds left. He was particularly good in the second quarter when he was a perfect 7 for 7 from the field and made seven of his eight free throws for 21 points. "Hes got enough skill that he can put the ball on the floor, he can make shots, he can drive, he can finish, he can pass," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "Hes a very versatile player and tonight he had it going." Jones played just 19 games as a rookie last season after being selected out of Kentucky with the 18th overall pick in the 2012 draft. He has appeared in 39 games this season with 34 starts. The 22-year-old Jones is the second-youngest Rocket to have a 30-point game behind Hakeem Olajuwon. NOTES: Milwaukees Gary Neal missed the game with a stomach illness. ... Ridnour got a technical midway through the second quarter and Larry Sanders got one in the third. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '