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MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves started an important eight-game stretch with an emphatic victory, handing the improving Washington Wizards their worst loss of the season. The Wizards hope they didnt lose something much more important than just one game. Love had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and J.J. Barea scored 17 points off the bench to help the Timberwolves beat Washington 120-98 on Friday night. Ricky Rubio had 11 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in 26 minutes, and Nikola Pekovic added 18 points and 10 boards for the Timberwolves. Minnesota turned the ball over only five times and got 44 points from its long-struggling reserves. "Its no secret we need more production from our bench," Love said. "That really helps out some of the starters, especially when every night isnt going to be great for all of our guys, one through five." John Wall had 26 points and seven assists for the Wizards, who missed a chance to win their fourth straight road game for the first time since March 2008. Nene added 13 points and five rebounds, but Bradley Beal had to be helped off the floor in the fourth quarter with a left leg injury. Beal scored 14 points in 26 minutes, but got tangled up on a screen by Wolves forward Luc Mbah a Moute with 4:25 to go. Beal was knocked to the ground and couldnt put any pressure on his left leg as Jan Vesely and Trevor Ariza helped him to the locker room. "With the knee injuries going on this year in the NBA, you just hope (Beals) isnt one of those ones that (is) devastating," Wall said. Preliminary X-rays were negative on Beals left knee and he will have an MRI on Saturday. "I was just trying to really get up and I really couldnt get up," Beal said. "Was hoping it wasnt anything too serious or too crazy. I mean, I was able to put a little weight on it afterwards. Just have to see with the MRI tomorrow." Beal missed nine games this season with a stress fracture in his right leg, and the Wizards count on his scoring as part of their dynamic young backcourt. Barea shot 8 of 10 and Alexey Shved scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds to give the Wolves some much-needed balance between their starters and bench. The Timberwolves slogged through a brutal opening two months, weathering injuries to Chase Budinger and Ronny Turiaf and the third-toughest schedule in the NBA to post a 13-15 record. It was underwhelming considering the high hopes they started the season with, but not wholly unexpected given the schedule. Now is the time they have to make a move if they want to be a factor in the Western Conference playoff race. They play six of the next eight at home and face five teams that are currently under .500. The Wolves got off to an awful start Friday, shooting 28 per cent in the first quarter. But they got to the free throw line 10 times to stay close, then made their move in the second quarter with 39 points. "It makes things a lot easier," coach Rick Adelman said of his second-team backcourt. "I like the way they played at both ends of the court. Weve got to get something going when those guys come in." The Wizards, meanwhile, were looking to end a four-game road swing with a statement. They beat the Knicks, Nets and Celtics to start the trip, then had five days off before facing the Timberwolves, and coach Randy Wittman wanted to see his young team build on the steps he believed they took in those victories. Wall scored 22 points in the first half, but just four in the second as the Wizards faded. The Wolves dictated play for most of the night, shooting 38 free throws to just 17 for Washington and outrebounding the Wizards 44-35, including 14-9 on the offensive end. "They were tougher than we were," Wittman said. "They pushed us around. We had no resistance. So weve got to put this game behind us but learn from it." NOTES: Former Timberwolves F Martell Webster scored 11 points for the Wizards. ... Wizards F Kevin Seraphin missed the game with a sore right knee. ... The Timberwolves game against Phoenix on Jan. 8 has been moved to an 8:30 p.m. CST start to accommodate ESPN. Cheap Stan Smith Online . Despite 11-1 records, theyre out and Big Ten winner Ohio State is into the national semifinals. Stan Smith Clearance .com) - Jahlil Okafor had 21 points, Tyus Jones scored 16 with 10 assists and No. http://www.wholesalestansmith.com/ . His actions are much louder on the Fenway Park mound. De La Rosa had another strong home start, going seven solid innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. Stan Smith Wholesale China .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings take aim at an eighth straight victory on Monday night as they wrap up a road trip versus the Calgary Flames. Wholesale Stan Smith . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Philadelphia Flyers will try to rebound on their road trip Wednesday night with their first victory in Colorado in 12 years as they take on the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. The Flyers won the first three of an eight-game swing, but have since lost in Nashville and Arizona, outscored 8-3. They made a game of it late on Monday versus the Coyotes before taking a 4-2 setback. R.J. Umberger scored twice just over three minutes apart late in the third period to pull Philadelphia within one, but Vincent Lecavalier had a good one- time shot saved with under a minute to play and the Coyotes scored an empty- net tally. Sean Couturier assisted on both of Umbergers goals and Steve Mason made 21 saves in his first start since Dec. 18. Its frustrating to lose the hockey game and come out the way we did, Flyers head coach Craig Berube said. We havent risen to the occasion. Mason had missed the previous four games with a back injury suffered in practice on Dec. 19 and is 6-7-2 in his career versus the Avs with a 3.dddddddddddd00 goals against average and .904 save percentage. Mason made 36 saves, while Claude Giroux scored twice and Jakub Voracek had three assists when the Flyers topped the Avalanche at home on Nov. 8. Philadelphia, though, has lost six in a row in Colorado, where it has not won since Dec. 27, 2002. The Avalanche look to avoid a third loss in a row, with their back-to-back defeats following a three-game winning streak. They were shut out last time out, falling 3-0 to Martin Brodeur and the St. Louis Blues. Brodeur needed to make just 16 saves to deal Colorado its sixth shutout loss of the season, tied with Buffalo for the most in the NHL. Semyon Varlamov allowed all three goals on 25 shots as the Avs fell to 4-5-3 this month. Its clear that we need to do things differently, Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy said. Varlamov is 1-1-1 lifetime versus the Flyers with a 2.81 GAA and .919 save percentage in four meetings with three starts. ' ' '