In a back-and-forth game that featured 10 ties and 23 lead changes, the Utah Jazz pulled away late in the third quarter and cruised to a 103-90 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Rodney Hood led the Jazz with 22 points, while Derrick Favors added 20 points and nine rebounds.
The pair received a standing ovation when they checked out of the game in the final minute.
Rudy Gobert double-doubled with 14 points (on 6-for-8 shooting) and 12 rebounds, and added two steals and two blocks. Trey Burke (12 points) and Trevor Booker (11 points, eight rebounds) gave the Jazz (21-25) a spark off the bench.
No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns had a monster game for the Timberwolves (14-34), finishing with a career-high 32 points (on 13-for-17 shooting, including one 3-pointer), 12 rebounds, one steal and one block.
Andrew Wiggins–last season’s Rookie of the Year winner–was not as successful. He finished with only five points on 2-for-11 shooting.
Gorgui Dieng added 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, while Zach LaVine went 7-for-7 from the field in the first half–and 2-for-5 in the second half–to finish with 19 points in the loss.
Friday’s Best
Favors rejoined the starting lineup for the first time since December 23, finishing with 20 points (on 9-for-16 shooting), nine rebounds and one steal in 35 minutes. There was (as usual) nothing flashy about his game, but his presence was felt all over the court. He did the dirty work on the block and chased Minnesota’s bigs around the perimeter on defense, and he provided a much-needed punch on offense as an exhausted Gordon Hayward (12 points) had a rare off night.
Overall, Favors had a differential of +13, behind only Booker (+19) and Hood (+14).
Key Stretch
With Utah down 69-68 midway through the third quarter, Favors grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a two-handed slam over Towns–a dunk that sparked a 14-0 Jazz run that blew the game wide open.
On Utah’s next possession, Hayward drove into the lane and hit a one-handed runner (only his third bucket of the game). Booker threw down a (soft, by his standards) baseline dunk off a pass from Favors. After Booker blocked a 3-point attempt by Nemanja Bjelica, Burke hit nothing but net on a deep 3-pointer to give Utah a 77-69 lead. Favors added a floater in the lane and–after an air ball by Minnesota–Burke drilled another 3-pointer to make the score 82-69.
Minnesota did not score a point the final 5:05 of the third quarter. The Timberwolves went 0-for-5 and committed four turnovers during that stretch.
Significant Stat
It was a tale of two halves on the defensive end for Utah. Minnesota shot 56.8 percent in the first half as the teams combined for 111 points, but the Jazz clamped down in the second half. The Timberwolves shot only 14-for-38 (36.8 percent) after halftime.
Coach’s Quote of the Night
“[Derrick] played well. I thought he defended, especially. … It’s just big having that other guy on the boards. When you have somebody that’s guarding the post player–and a good post player like they have–that weakside rebounding is essential. That’s something we’ve been missing, and he was able to do that.”
–Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Utah went 10-for-25 (40 percent) from 3-point range. Minnesota only attempted 10 3-pointers, making two. … The Jazz now have eight two-game winning streaks this season–but they’ve yet to win three straight. … Minnesota scored 22 points off Utah’s 14 turnovers. … Burke went 4-for-10 from 3-point range–and 4-for-11 from the field overall. … Hayward (29-for-29) and Hood (19-for-20) have combined to shoot 97.9 percent from the free-throw line over Utah’s last six games.
Up Next
The Jazz will continue their homestand when they host the Chicago Bulls on Monday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT and the game will be televised on ROOT SPORTS.
