Jazz prevail in tough matchup against the Timberwolves

The Utah Jazz entered the Timberwolves lair on Wednesday night and came out with a convincing win. The win felt cathartic for a Jazz team that failed to beat Minnesota last year in four tries. This game felt like it might be another tough one for the Jazz to get the win, as they went back & forth with the Wolves throughout the first half. But the second half turned into complete domination as Utah ran away with it’s fourth straight win and looked about as impressive as they have yet this season. The Jazz shot the ball as well as we’ve seen so far this year and their defense was as dominant as ever.

The Timberwolves came into this game at 11-13 and in contention for one of the final playoff spots in the west so far. The fact that they are competing for a playoff spot and the fact that the “pesky” Wolves always seem to cause problems for the Jazz, this game was not a given for the Jazz. Wolves star Karl Anthony-Towns is traditionally a tough matchup for Rudy Gobert and tonight was no different as KAT scored 22 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and gave out 5 assists. But the Timberwolves didn’t get much else from the rest of the team. Co-star Anthony Edwards had a “quiet” 18 points but the Wolves had no answer on the defensive end tonight.

Photo by David Berding/Getty Images

The Jazz finish this game with six players in double figures, led by Donovan Mitchell with 36. Donovan has certainly found his groove recently, this game marks the 4th straight game that he has scored more than 30 points. The only Jazz starter that was not in double figures was Royce O’Neal but he had 9 points, 6 rebounds & 7 assists. One of the most impressive things about this win for Utah is the fact that key reserve Hassan Whiteside was out tonight. Whiteside being out is a pretty big blow to the Jazz depth most nights and they didn’t even skip a beat without him.

The Timberwolves will have the chance to put this one behind them by hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers this Friday. The Jazz won’t have time to revel in this win for very long as they head to Philadelphia tonight for a matchup against the talented but dysfunctional 76ers tomorrow.

Extra dribbles…….

Timberwolves - This game is the 4th time this season that they have allowed an opponent to make 20+ threes, which leads the league.

Jazz - The Jazz have now made 20 three pointers in 3 straight games, becoming the first team in history to do so.