Die Macht » silver medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germ

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Memphis Grizzlies are making a move in the Western Conference and are doing it on the road. Zach Randolph had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Memphis overcame another strong effort by Kevin Love to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-90 Friday night. Courtney Lee added 16 points for the Grizzlies, who have won five straight games and 10 of their last 11. Memphis has won six straight away from home, including a sweep of a three-game trip to Portland, Sacramento and Minnesota. "It feels good, we are still getting to where we want to get," Randolph said. One-half game behind Dallas for eighth place in the Western Conference, the Grizzlies are 13-7 on the road and 12-13 at home. "This is huge for us, especially for the goals we have as far as making that playoff push," Lee said. "It definitely builds momentum." The win could be costly because Memphis played the final 6:37 without starting guard Mike Conley, who sprained his right ankle when he landed on J.J. Bareas foot. Conley had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting after scoring a combined 46 in his last two outings. He is to be re-evaluated Saturday. "I can put weight on it now," Conley said. "Tomorrow is looking iffy, but hopefully after some treatment tonight and the next day we will go from there." Memphis hosts Milwaukee Saturday. Playing on a sore left ankle throughout the second half, Love led Minnesota with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Kevin Martin had 14 points for the Timberwolves, who lost for just the second time in seven games. "We had our chances in the end and had some really, really great looks. We just didnt convert," Love said. Randolph did. He scored six points during a 9-2 Memphis run that turned a one-point deficit into a 91-85 lead with 59.6 seconds to play and later added two free throws. "Hes the man, hes the go-to player. Hes a proud man, hes an extremely competitive man," said Memphis coach David Joerger. "Think of all the banging those guys take night in and night out, year in and year out. When he got down there and got it done going 11 of 20 with some offensive rebounds, makes big free throws. Im really proud of him, really happy." With Minnesota trailing by one, Love scored on a fadeaway jumper and on a layup after a feed from Barea for an 83-80 lead midway through the fourth quarter. Love hurt his left ankle when he collided with Marc Gasol on a drive with 2 minutes to play in the first half and landed on the foot of another Memphis player, yet gutted it out until halftime. "When I was moving it felt fine and I continued to keep it moving," Love said. "But right now it doesnt feel so good. We just need to do all we can before tomorrow night and hopefully be ready to go." Minnesota is at Atlanta on Saturday. Loves gimping was gone to start the second half much to the dismay of Memphis. With the Timberwolves trailing 59-43 early in the third quarter, Love scored 14 points during an 18-4 run to get them within two. His jumper with 12.8 seconds left in the quarter gave Minnesota its first lead of the game at 67-66. Love outscored the Grizzlies 18-16 in the frame. Ricky Rubio helped lead the comeback in the third with six assists, but did not get off the bench in the fourth as coach Rick Adelman thought Barea "was the best option for us to win." Rubio finished with six points on 2-of-7 shooting. "Its coachs decision and I respect it. He always does what he thinks is best for the team. Of course I wish I could play, but I respect my teammates and my coaches and what he decides," Rubio said. Early on, Memphis took advantage of Minnesota playing its second straight game without bruising centre Nikola Pekovic, who is out indefinitely with bursitis in his right ankle. Memphis had 36 points in the paint in the first half, and finished with 56. Gasol and Lee each had nine points in the first quarter as the Grizzlies shot 63.6 per cent from the field, and had 22 points in the paint in building a 30-22 lead. A putback by Randolph and a two-handed dunk by Ed Davis off a Minnesota turnover increased Memphis lead to 42-28 midway through the second quarter. NOTES: Minnesotas 37 first-half points were a season low. ... Memphis F Mike Miller, who was questionable after spraining his right thumb Wednesday, finished with five points. ... Minnesotas Gorgui Dieng blocked Davis twice in a 58-second span early in second. ... Joerger grew up in Staples, Minn. Seattle Mariners Shirts . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday. Cheap Mariners Jerseys . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . Noah finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in 34 minutes. He was headed for his fourth triple-double of the season, but sat down with about three minutes left because of the lopsided score. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points for Chicago, going 5 for 6 on 3-pointers, Carlos Boozer added 18 points, D. Stitched Mariners Jerseys . Left back Armero opened the scoring in the fifth minute when his deflected shot rolled past Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. Striker Teofilo Gutierrez poked in Colombias second goal from a deflected corner in the 58th and James Rodriguez capped it off with a low shot in stoppage time after a slick backheel flick from Juan Cuadrado. Mariners Jerseys 2020 . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman. FUKUOKA, Japan -- Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan brushed off a fall and merely increased his lead in beating three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Canada at the Grand Prix Final on Friday. Hanyu, who had a 12-point lead after Thursdays short program, fell on his opening quad salchow but completed all of his other jumps, including seven triple jumps plus a quad toe loop in the free skate to eclipse Chan by 13 points. "I wasnt completely satisfied with the long program," Hanyu said. "But after falling on the quad I was able to pull myself together and complete all my jumps and that was huge." Chan also hit all his jumps, but he was unable to erase the deficit and finished with 280.08 points to Hanyus 293.25. Nobunari Oda of Japan, a late substitute for defending GP Final champion Daisuke Takahashi, was third with 255.96. "It was a good day and Im happy with how I skated," Chan said. "I felt nervous going into the long program. It was a mental battle even before I got on the ice." Beating Chan was a huge boost for Hanyus chances of being selected to represent Japan at the Sochi Olympics. "This is a huge step for Sochi," said Hanyu, who will turn 19 on Saturday. "I feel I am meeting all the requirements. We still have the national championships but obviously, I am feeling pretty confident." Chan said he wasnt disappointed with the result. "I finished the event strong," the Toronto skater said. "There was a lot of good things I did here, and that was regaining my composure and regaining my concentration after a bad short program and putting out a great long that I dont usually do. Its not very Patrick Chan of me. "Most of the time, I think people know me well that the short program has always saved me ... but I think today was proof that Im getting better and really becoming a more well-rounded competitor." He said his long skate was even more satisfying given his previous track record skating in Japan. "Honestly, I started thinking about my previous performances here in Japan, and I dont really have the best track record," he said. "The last two times I competed here has for the World Team Troophy, and I really havent skated well at every single one of those in Japan, just because its at the end of the season.dddddddddddd "Every time I come back to Japan I feel like I relive those moments where I didnt skate my best and those were really tough times. Thats why I think I learned a lot today." In ice dancing, world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States led after the short dance with 77.66 points, seven-tenths of a point ahead of Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont. "Overall it was strong," said Virtue. "Technically we got all the points we wanted which was our objective. We just have to go out and perform the same way in the free dance." Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia stand third at 68.90 just ahead of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., at 67.68. "We captured the essence of the program," said Poje. "We didnt lose that uniqueness. We wanted to utilize the taps and the back and forth between the two of us." Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia were first after the pairs short program with 82.65. World silver medallists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany were second with 79.46 while Qing Pang and Jian Tong of China were third on 75.40. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., totalled 73.07 and are fourth less than three points behind third spot. Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are sixth. "This is the type of skate weve been waiting for," said Radford. "After some rough short programs this season, this one gives us a lot of confidence." Moore-Towers and Moscovitch also came off the ice satisfied. "We cant do much better than a clean short," said Moore-Towers. "The best part was our energy. We felt comfortable and at home out there. It was fun and when we get to feel it that way, its enjoyable." The GP Final is the first and only event where most of the worlds top skaters will meet before the Sochi Olympics. The womens free skate and the ice dance and pairs free programs are scheduled for Saturday. ' ' '