Real Madrid holds off Liverpool

Soccer: Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 on Karim Benzema’s 27th-minute goal Tuesday night to advance to the knockout phase of the Champions League along with Borussia Dortmund, and Arsenal wasted a three-goal lead at home in a 3-3 tie against Anderlecht.

Real improved to 4-0 in Group B as Cristiano Ronaldo remained one shy of Raul Gonzalez’s record of 71 goals in Europe’s top club competition. Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers rested Steven Gerrard, Mario Balotelli, Raheem Sterling and several others ahead of a weekend Premier League match against Chelsea.

Basel (2-2) is second after routing Ludogorets Razgrad 4-0. Borussia Dortmund beat Galatasaray 4-1 in the other Group D game.

At London, Arsenal (2-1-1) built a 3-0 lead over Anderlecht on Mikel Arteta’s penalty kick in the 25th, a volley by Alexis Sanchez in the 29th and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s darting run and shot in the 58th. But Anthony Vanden Borre scored in ther 61st and converted a penalty kick in the 73rd, and Aleksandar Mitrovic headed in the equalizer in the 90th for Anderlecht (0-2-2).

Juventus rallied to defeat Olympiakos 3-2, and Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Malmo to lead Group A. Andrea Pirlo, making his 100th Champions League appearance, scored on a free kick in the 21st for Juventus, and Alberto Botia and Delvin N’Dinga scored on headers for the Greek champion. After an own goal by Roberto in the 65th, Paul Pogba scored a minute later.

Group C leader Bayer Leverkusen won 2-1 at Zenit St. Petersburg, and Benfica beat Monaco 1-0.

No punishment for fighting drivers

Auto Racing: Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon have avoided any penalty from NASCAR for their post-race altercation at Texas, but two crew chiefs and four crew members from Hendrick Motorsports have been punished for their roles in the brawl.

NASCAR suspended three Hendrick crew members for six races on Tuesday and fined them each $25,000. A fourth Hendrick crew member was fined $10,000 and suspended for three races.

Gordon crew chief Alan Gustafson and Kasey Kahne crew chief Kenny Francis were each fined $50,000 and placed on probation for six races.

• Hamlin airs feelings: Denny Hamlin says most drivers don’t respect Brad Keselowski, and it’s over the lack of remorse he shows for his aggressive driving.

Hamlin also says the consensus is that Keselowski did not have enough space to attempt a pass of Jeff Gordon in the closing laps at Texas.

Rockets rout Heat to remain unbeaten

NBA: James Harden had 25 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds, Dwight Howard added 26 points and 10 boards, and Houston stayed unbeaten, beating host Miami 108-91.

• Raptors beat Thunder: DeMar DeRozan scored 16 points, Patrick Patterson had 14 and host Toronto beat depleted Oklahoma City 100-88.

• Short-handed Bulls win: Pau Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and host Chicago beat winless Orlando 98-90 despite playing without Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.

• Bucks edge Pacers: Brandon Knight had 23 points and seven rebounds, making a key jumper with 22 seconds left, as Milwaukee won at Indiana 87-81.

• Wizards hex Knicks: Paul Pierce and Garrett Temple each scored 17 points, and visiting Washington beat New York for the fourth straight time, 98-83.

• Davis lifts Pelicans: Anthony Davis had 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks, and New Orleans beat visiting Charlotte 100-91.

• Lakers still winless: Gerald Green scored 26 points off the bench, Markieff Morris had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and visiting Phoenix overcame Kobe Bryant’s 39-point performance to keep the Los Angeles Lakers winless with a 112-106 victory.

• Allen fined: The NBA has fined Grizzlies guard Tony Allen $15,000 for intentionally striking a camera on the baseline Monday during Memphis’ win over New Orleans.

• Blazers limit LeBron: Damian Lillard snapped out of a shooting slump with 27 points and Portland held LeBron James to just 11 in a 101-82 victory over visiting Cleveland.

Ovechkin sets record, but Capitals fall in OT

NHL: Alex Ovechkin became the leading scorer in Capitals’ history, raising his career point total to 827 with a pair of assists in Washington’s 4-3 overtime home loss to Calgary.

• Jets down Predators: Andrew Ladd, Mark Scheifele scored power-play goals 2:36 apart in the first period to help Winnipeg beat Nashville 3-1.

• Kings overcome Stars: Dustin Brown and Kyle Clifford scored third-period goals and Los Angeles rallied to win at Dallas 3-1.

• Canucks rally for win: Nick Bonino scored two goals, Ryan Miller made 20 saves and Vancouver overcame an early deficit to beat host Colorado 4-2.

• Flyers dump Oilers: Jakub Voracek scored two goals, and Steve Mason made 35 saves to earn his first win of the season as Philadelphia beat visiting Edmonton 4-1.

• ’Canes sink Jackets: Zach Boychuk, Riley Nash, Justin Faulk and Eric Staal scored in Carolina’s 4-2 win at Columbus.

• Bruins nip Panthers: Brad Marchand scored 3:27 into overtime to lift host Boston to their ninth straight win over Florida, 2-1.

• Blackhawks win easy: Kris Versteeg scored twice, and Corey Crawford made 28 saves in his 11th NHL shutout as Chicago ended a two-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory at Montreal.

• Coyotes top Leafs: Mike Smith stopped 28 shots, Sam Gagner scored in his second straight game and Arizona held off Toronto 3-2.

• Penguins pummel Wild: Thomas Greiss made 33 saves while extending Pittsburgh’s shutout streak to 205 minutes and 28 seconds, guiding the Penguins to a 4-1 victory over Minnesota that handed the Wild their first defeat in six home games.

• Blues beat Devils: Red-hot Vladimir Tarasenko scored a power-play goal early in the third period and St. Louis extended its winning streak to six games with a 1-0 victory at New Jersey.

• Gibson out: Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson will be out for six weeks with a groin injury.

He is 2-2-0 with a 2.28 goals-against average in his first full NHL season.