Jazz at Timberwolves
The Utah Jazz lifted themselves all alone into the No. 8 spot with a victory on Wednesday but suffered a letdown on Thursday and dropped back down. The Jazz will try to close out their five-game road trip with a 3-2 record when they visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
Utah jumped over the Rockets for the No. 8 spot with an 89-87 win in Houston on Wednesday but could not muster the same effort at Oklahoma City the next night in a 113-91 loss. “It would've been tough to beat this team even if we were fresh,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “We were depleted early with foul trouble. That hurt us. We needed to make some shots out there (Thursday) and we weren't able to do that. We have to keep playing well, and get ready for Minnesota.” Utah will get the added benefit on Saturday of going up against a Timberwolves team that is playing the second night of a back-to-back after earning a 132-129 win in double overtime at Washington on Friday. If any team in the NBA can get up for the second night of a back-to-back it is Minnesota, which starts five players age 26 or younger.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), FSN North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (35-37): Utah committed 18 turnovers and had only one starter (Rodney Hood, 11 points) score in double figures in Oklahoma City. “I think we're still upbeat,” Hood told the Salt Lake Tribune after the loss. “We can't look too far into tonight. They came out and played a good game and we didn't play as well. Our whole focus is Minnesota right now. We've got a day to prepare and that's a huge game for us.” Every game left is huge for the Jazz, who will play six of their final 10 games against teams below them in the Western Conference.
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (24-48): All five of those 26-and-under starters played at least 40 minutes on Friday, with rookie Karl-Anthony Towns leading the way. The Rookie of the Year favorite delivered 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in 48 minutes and hit the clinching layup with 11 seconds left in the second overtime. Fellow budding star Zach LaVine forced that second extra session with a 3-pointer at the end of the first overtime after the old man of the bunch, 26-year-old center Gorgui Dieng buried a rare 3-pointer to tie it with 19 seconds left in regulation.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jazz G Trey Burke scored 17 points in 12 minutes on Thursday after being a DNP-coach’s decision in each of the previous three contests.
2. LaVine is 20-of-36 from 3-point range in the last five games.
3. The Northwest Division rivals have split two meetings this season, with Minnesota earning a 94-80 home win on Dec. 30.