Hayward's 39 carry Jazz past Timberwolves
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored a career-high 39 points on 14-of-22 shooting from the field and Joe Johnson added 22 points off the bench to lead the Utah Jazz to a 120-113 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Rudy Gobert added 16 points and Derrick Favors chipped in 13 points for the Jazz. Utah (49-30) won its eighth straight home game and moved a full game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference standings.
Karl-Anthony Towns totaled 32 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Timberwolves. Ricky Rubio added 26 points and Andrew Wiggins chipped in 25. Minnesota (31-48) lost its third straight game.
Minnesota rallied within a point four times late in the fourth quarter, the final time on a dunk from Towns that cut Utah's lead to 114-113 with 1:23 remaining. Hayward answered with a jumper and added a free throw on the ensuing possession to keep the Timberwolves from overtaking the Jazz in the final minute.
Utah went 45 of 75 from the field, including 14 of 25 from the perimeter. Minnesota countered with 39-of-79 shooting from the field.
Neither team could gain ground in a first quarter that featured six ties and 14 lead changes.
Minnesota charged ahead in the second quarter. Towns keyed the surge by scoring the first nine points of the quarter for the Timberwolves. Shabazz Muhammad then scored two baskets off steals to highlight an 11-4 spurt that give Minnesota a 49-38 lead.
Hayward drove for a dunk to stop the run and Utah whittled away the deficit behind 3-pointers from Dante Exum and Johnson. The Jazz tied it at 51 when Joe Ingles turned a steal into a layup on the other end.
Utah proved unable to take the lead. Rubio drained two free throws and Brandon Rush followed with a 3-pointer to put the Timberwolves back up 56-52 with 1:59 left before halftime.
Minnesota scored on four straight possessions, with Towns contributing three of the baskets, to build a 71-63 lead early in the third quarter.
The Jazz rallied by torching the Timberwolves on the perimeter. Hayward and Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers out of a timeout to cut the deficit to a basket.
Utah took a 84-79 lead later in the quarter on a 3-pointer from Hood and a fadeaway jumper from Hayward. The Jazz boosted their lead to 95-88 entering the fourth quarter after Johnson scored three straight baskets in the final minute of the quarter.
Utah took its largest lead at 108-100 on a putback dunk from Favors midway through the fourth quarter.
NOTES: Jazz G George Hill and G Raul Neto each missed their fifth straight game because of a right groin strain. F Derrick Favors returned to the lineup after a 14-game absence resulting from a left knee contusion. ... Minnesota went 28 of 28 from the free throw line. ... Utah G/F Joe Johnson needs seven points to become the 42nd NBA player to score 20,000. ... Wolves C Karl-Anthony Towns needs 33 points and 47 rebounds in his final three games of the season to become the youngest NBA player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a season. ... The Jazz were 8 of 11 from the perimeter in the third quarter en route to totaling a season-high 40 points in the quarter.