by Kimya Oliver
The Utah Jazz defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-116.
The Crossover: Utah Jazz by the Numbers
Rudy Gobert won the tip-off for the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz opened the first quarter on a 13-9 run. They struggled to hit a shot from beyond the arc, only making one of five with less than five minutes in the first quarter. The Wolves were not backing down, cutting the Jazz lead to one-point with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter.
Off a bad pass, Royce O’Neale stole the ball and passed it ahead to Mike Conley for the easy fast break layup.
In the final seven seconds, Conley drove to the basket and sank a floater off one foot from the free-throw line. The first quarter ended with the Jazz leading 35-27.
After a two-minute nonscoring drought, Gobert gave Joe Ingles a screen to open the driving lane for the layup plus the foul. Ingles also sank the following free throw.
The Wolves opened the second quarter on a 9-3 run to cut the lead 38-36. The Jazz then turned defense into offense. Ingles stole the ball and turned on the jets to push the other way for the alley-oopto Gobert.
Things began to get intense as an altercation between Ingles and Jake Layman started getting physical. Ingles didn’t appreciate Layman bumping into him multiple times and a technical foul was called on Ingles.
With 3:25 left in the first half, Jordan Clarkson ignited the Jazz offense by dunking ferociously on Jaden McDaniels. The first half ended with a seven-point Jazz lead by the score of 67-60.
To get the offense going to open the third quarter, Bojan Bogdanovic let it fly from deep. The Jazz felt the offense momentum early, opening the third quarter on an 11-4 run.
Traveling: Jazz start new win streak at home
With two minutes left in the third quarter, Donovan Mitchell drove to the basket, but decided to kick it to the corner to Clarkson. Clarkson made a pump fake and drove to the basket, but found Mitchell open for three in the corner. The third quarter ended with the Jazz still holding onto the lead by a score of 101-90.
Gobert gave Ingles a screen to open the lane for the tough layup to open the fourth quarter. The Jazz kept that offensive momentum throughout the rest of the game which lead to the convincing win.
The Daily Double-Double
Mitchell led the Jazz with 28 points while Gobert had his 25th double-double this season with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
Bounce Pass: Up Next
The Jazz will be facing the Dallas Mavericks on Christmas (December 25) at 8:30 p.m. MST.
Featured image courtesy Shafkat Anowar, Deseret News