Timberwolves at Jazz
The Utah Jazz are locked in a three-team battle for the final two
Western Conference playoff spots and look to bounce back from a tough
loss when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Utah fell in
overtime to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday and is battling the
Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks for the postseason berths.
The Jazz held an eight-point lead midway through the fourth quarter before allowing the Warriors to rally to force overtime and they ended up with a bitter 103-96 defeat. "We're pretty frustrated right now, but we've got seven more games," shooting guard Rodney Hood told reporters. "If we would have won, it was one win. This is one loss. We've got seven more that we need to come ready to play. The biggest thing we can't do is feel deflated and (have) it carry over to the next game against Minnesota." The Timberwolves were routed 99-79 by the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday when they shot a woeful 34.5 percent from the field. Shooting guard Andrew Wiggins had nearly as many turnovers (six) as points (seven) before exiting the game with a lacerated chin.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN North (Minnesota), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (25-50): Interim coach Sam Mitchell was irate after the loss to the Clippers as he felt his young squad played its "worst game" of the season. "Like I told them, I wish (the media) would stop asking me questions about how good they can be," Mitchell told reporters. "We have 25 wins. They still have to learn how to play basketball. They still got to grow up. They still got to understand, they played a team that's a real playoff team. You saw what happened. We're not ready yet. So I wish they would stop reading the newspapers, stop talking to their friends because we're not good enough to just show up and play." Second-year guard Zach LaVine was one of the culprits as he was scoreless and missed all six of his field-goal attempts.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (37-38): Utah has won eight of its last 11 games but was unable to close out the contest when the Warriors cranked their collective games up a notch down the stretch. The Jazz lost power forward Derrick Favors (knee) during the third quarter - he had 15 points in 19 minutes - and it isn't yet known if he will be available against the Timberwolves. Small forward Gordon Hayward had 21 points against Golden State but was just 7-of-20 shooting and is only 19-of-50 from the field over the past four games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Jazz are 2-1 against the Timberwolves this season and have won six of the past eight meetings.
2. Minnesota rookie C Karl-Anthony Towns has recorded 10 straight double-doubles and has scored 24 or more points five times during the stretch.
3. Utah C Rudy Gobert had 18 rebounds against Golden State and is averaging 16 over the past three games.