Entering a hostile arena where Orlando, San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers all had lost in the past week, Flynn on the final night of a three-game road trip through the wild West won a dramatic duel with Jazz point guard Deron Williams.
He did so by scoring a career-high 28 points that included the winning shot with three seconds left on a night when Williams — just named the Western Conference’s Player of the Week for last week on Monday — scored 38 himself, including 27 before halftime.
The Wolves led by eight points with 10 minutes left and trailed by three with fewer than three minutes remaining before Flynn provided the night’s final punctuation with a driving layup and one-handed bank shot past Williams.
It was Minnesota’s fourth victory of the season, and second against the Jazz, who in their previous game had stopped the 11-game winning streak of the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Wolves also were playing without forward Ryan Gomes (knee), who scored a team-high 23 points in their 108-101 victory over Utah on Dec. 5.
Brewer’s dunk capped an 8-0 run midway through the third period, the first six points scored by Jefferson. Utah never quite recovered, in large part because it couldn’t hit open shots, or free throws.
“So many guys stepped up and had big ballgames for us and that contribution from a lot of people means a lot to this club,” Rambis said.
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