Timberwolves turn a test into a rout, rolling to victory vs. Jazz

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan 30, 2025

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SALT LAKE CITY — All week Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has put his team on alert that its “mess around period” of the season is over. It’s why Finch was so hot after a win over Atlanta on Monday that didn’t live up to the Wolves’ standards. It’s why he ripped into the team at a Wednesday film session before a win over Phoenix.

“We don’t have that luxury,” Finch said. “We had that early in the season when we were trying to figure out a lot more things.”

There wasn’t much to complain about with Thursday’s performance. The Wolves faced the worst team in the West, Utah, and were down three rotation players for most of the night — Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle. With Finch going deep into his bench, the Wolves still handled the Jazz with ease, 138-113, for their fifth consecutive victory.

Anthony Edwards, who became an All-Star for the third time earlier in the day, led the Wolves with 36 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Rob Dillingham had 19 points and eight assists, Luka Garza had 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting while defensive specialist Jaylen Clark had six points and was a plus-34 in 17 minutes.

Slow start

A night after beating Phoenix in an emotional game, the Wolves came out flat in the first quarter and fell behind 25-10. They conceded a number of open looks to the Jazz on the perimeter, and Utah converted to the tune of 5 for 10 from 3-point range. Offensively, the Wolves had little movement and were cold to start. This wouldn’t last. As Utah got into its bench, Edwards got going. He attacked the rim on two consecutive possessions when Jazz center Walker Kessler went to the bench. Then as Utah sent double teams his way, he passed out of them for five assists in the quarter. The Wolves cut the Jazz lead to 31-27 by the end of the quarter.

Randle exits in second

Randle exited the game in the second quarter after converting a layup around Kessler. Randle immediately grabbed at his right inner thigh and went straight to the locker room. The team then announced he was out because of right groin soreness.

This forced Finch to go even deeper into his bench, and such players as Garza and Clark played significant minutes. Clark got playing time for the second consecutive game. Garza did what he does best when given the opportunity to play: score. He had seven points in the first half as the Wolves led by as many as 10. Naz Reid was 4 for 4 to open the night and led the Wolves with 12 points at the half, when the Wolves led 57-53.

Edwards puts it away in third

Edwards had been reading the game well all night, and he put it all together in the third quarter, when he had 16 points. He also added four assists. The Wolves were hitting from all over the floor, and it didn’t much matter who was taking the shots. They shot 61.3% for the night

Conley out because of thumb sprain

Conley was unable to play Thursday because of a left thumb sprain he suffered in Wednesday’s win over Phoenix. Finch had called Conley a “legit” game-time decision entering the night. Reid was back in the lineup after he missed Wednesday’s game because of an illness.