Wolves 103, Jazz 107

Wolves record: 7-26

Something about the Jazz brings out the best in the Wolves, who executed their offense rather well even in defeat. Minnesota finished with 31 assists, five more than their previous season high — and that’s with just two from the starting point guard. And they made almost 53 percent of their shots, a total that will win most games.

Which is why the Wolves were so disappointed to fall behind by 17, dooming them despite a 19-6 rally to the finish.

From Ray Richardson/Pioneer Press:

The Wolves (7-26) came close to giving the crowd of 14,123 a dramatic finish, cutting a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to three with 37.6 seconds left, but another third-quarter breakdown seemed to diminish the comeback like a weak punch line.

The Jazz erased the Wolves’ one-point lead at halftime and led by as many as 15 in the third quarter to take control of the game. While Utah built a big lead, the Wolves committed five turnovers in the quarter and made only 9 of 20 shots from the floor.

The dismal performance coming out of the locker room, a frequent occurrence this season, drew more criticism from Wolves coach Kurt Rambis.

From Phil Miller/Star Tribune:

No kidding. Minnesota is now 3-7 when it leads at halftime, and Wednesday’s third-quarter lulls — a 9-1 Jazz run to open the half, and a 10-0 blitz a few minutes later to put the game out of reach — were particularly egregious. The Wolves outshot Utah, held Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko to a combined 13-for-39 from the field, and outscored the Jazz 19-6 to close the game.

And none of it mattered “because we weren’t ready to play” after halftime, coach Kurt Rambis grumbled.

From Jim Beilby/NBA.com:

Love, who is averaging 16.7 ppg and 13.7 rpg over the last seven games, did his part to keep Minnesota in the game. He had a career high nine assists and narrowly missed a triple-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

“I finally got some shots to go, so I didn’t shoot too bad from the field and I knew I must have had 10-plus rebolunds, but I didn’t know that I had nine (assists) until they told me after the game,” Love said.

“He is a good player,” Boozer said. “He plays well and he plays hard. He crashes the board offensively, very talented. For that team to have two guys the size of Al and him, that they can build around.”

From Jonah Ballow/Timberwolves site:

Al Jefferson was effective in the early stages against Okur in the post. Scoring 21 points on 10-for-15 shooting, Jefferson also dished out four assists. Wayne Ellington and Ramon Sessions added some offensive punch off the bench with a combined 24 points. Sessions played 10 minutes in the final quarter as he seemed more productive running alongside the starters while rookie Jonny Flynn only logged a little over a minute in the fourth period.

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Wolves 103, Jazz 107

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper