7:00 p.m., Target Center
Where to Watch: Fox Sports North
Where to Listen: 830 WCCO
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hoping to have enough energy after mustering out a double-overtime win last night in Washington tonight against the Utah Jazz.
The Wolves sit at 24-48 overall and 13th in the West.
Utah is fighting for a playoff spot. Right now, the Jazz are 35-37, good for eighth in the West and a comfortable 4 1/2 games ahead of the Denver Nuggets. Utah is just 1 1/2 games back, though, from the Portland Trail Blazers for the sixth seed, so there is plenty to play for.
A few tidbits going into Saturday night’s game:
Coming Off Of…
The Wolves are coming off of a thrilling 132-129 double-overtime win in Washington on Friday night against the Wizards. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 27 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a steal. Zach LaVine added 25 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the 3-point line. Gorgui Dieng nearly had a double-double, finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds. Andrew Wiggins shot just 4-for-14, but managed to finish with 16 points and seven rebounds. Ricky Rubio had a solid all-around game, finishing with 13 points, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals. Nemanja Bjelica led the second unit with 10 points.
Utah is coming off of a 113-91 road loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night. Trey Burke led Utah with 17 points in just 12 minutes off the bench. Rookie Trey Lyles added 14 points, while shooting 6-for-12 from the field. The starters really struggled. Rodney Hood was the only starter to hit double-digits, scoring 11 points.
Last Matchup:
The Wolves are 1-1 against the Jazz this season. The last game came on Jan. 29 in Utah. The Jazz won 103-90 behind 22 points from Hood. Derrick Favors added 20 points and nine rebounds. Rudy Gobert was solid on both ends, finishing with 14 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Gordon Hayward and Burke finished with 12 points each, while Trevor Booker added 11 points and eight rebounds. Utah shot a scorching 40 percent (10-of-25) from the 3-point line.
The bigs led the way for the Wolves. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a game-high 32 points to go with 12 rebounds. He did, however, turn the ball over five times. Gorgui Dieng added 20 points and 15 rebounds. Zach LaVine and Shabazz Muhammad led the second unit with 19 and 11 points, respectively.
Key Matchup: Andrew Wiggins vs. Gordon Hayward
Both teams’ go-to scorers are at the small forward position. Wiggins leads the Wolves with 20.6 points per game to go with 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He’s shooting 45.6 percent from the field, up nearly two percentage points from last season. In six career games against the Jazz, Wiggins is averaging 17 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Hayward is having another solid season, averaging a career-high 19.8 points to go with 4.9 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. He’s shooting 43.1 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from the 3-point line. In 18 career games against the Wolves, he’s averaging 12.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists.
Injuries:
Utah: Alec Burks (ankle) and Dante Exum (knee) are out.
Minnesota: Nikola Pekovic (foot) and Kevin Garnett (knee) are both out.
Projected Starters:
Utah: PG- Mack, SG – Hood, SF – Hayward, PF – Favors, C – Gobert
Minnesota: PG- Rubio, SG- LaVine, SF- Wiggins, PF- Dieng, C- Towns
