{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Basketball Association
Minnesota 101, Utah 90
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, November 30, 2023
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #94 JD Ralls, #37 Eric Dalen, #39 Tyler Ford
Attendance: 18024

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away for a 101-90 win over the visiting Utah Jazz on Thursday night in Minneapolis.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker finished with 20 points on 8-for-16 shooting for Minnesota, which played without top scorer Anthony Edwards as he recovers from a hip pointer injury. Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Simone Fontecchio scored 16 points to lead Utah, which did not have Lauri Markkanen because of a hamstring strain. Collin Sexton scored 14 points and Ochai Agbaji had 13. Utah has lost two straight games and six of its last eight.

The third quarter proved to be decisive for the Timberwolves, who outscored the Jazz 35-19 during that period to turn a two-point lead into an 18-point advantage.

Utah pulled ahead 54-51 early in the third quarter after Agbaji made a 3-pointer.

Minnesota, which has won three games in a row and six of its last seven, then took control with a 14-0 run to seize a 65-54 lead.

Alexander-Walker started the run with a 3-pointer. Gobert and Alexander-Walker followed up with back-to-back dunks, and Gobert struck again with an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Mike Conley.

Conley added a 3-pointer and Towns had a dunk to finish off the run.

Utah trailed by double digits for the duration of the fourth quarter. After Keyonte George made a pair of free throws to cut the Jazz's deficit to 98-85 with 3:28 to play, Towns answered with a 3-pointer to increase the Timberwolves' lead back to 16 points.

Minnesota held on to a 49-47 lead at the half. Towns had 20 points before the break and the rest of the Timberwolves' team combined for 29.

Utah jumped to a 19-12 lead in the first eight minutes. Fontecchio made back-to-back shots to finish off the early run and put the Jazz on top by seven.

Minnesota fell behind by as many as 12 points early in the second quarter. Kelly Olynyk drained a 3-pointer off a pass from Sexton to put the Jazz on top 35-23 with 8:50 left in the half.

The Timberwolves responded with a 15-0 run to seize a three-point lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Utah   Minnesota
Simone Fontecchio 16 Scoring Karl-Anthony Towns 32
Simone Fontecchio 5 Assists Nickeil Alexander-Walker 7
John Collins 12 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 13
Collin Sexton 5 Free Throws Made Karl-Anthony Towns 4
Ochai Agbaji 4 Steals Nickeil Alexander-Walker 5
Walker Kessler 3 Blocks Rudy Gobert 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 90 37.9 11-34 13-14 22 51 4 6 21
Minnesota 101 43.8 13-35 10-13 29 42 7 13 12
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Charlotte. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .714 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Portland. The Jazz have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .308 after a loss.