D’Angelo Russell hit six 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and scored 30 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 118-108 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Rudy Gobert added 22 points and 13 rebounds in his first game in Utah since being traded to Minnesota from the Jazz during the offseason. Gobert, who remains beloved in Utah, received a warm reception from Jazz fans and a standing ovation after a tribute video early in the night.
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Minnesota saw its 15-point halftime lead disappear in the third quarter, and the Jazz were within one point in the final minutes, but Russell hit back-to-back 3s to propel the Timberwolves to the road win. Minnesota outscored Utah 12-4 down the stretch.
Malik Beasley, one of the handful of players traded to Utah along with four first-round draft picks, led the Jazz with 23 points and five 3-pointers. Jarred Vanderbilt, also part of that deal, had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Utah.
Jordan Clarkson contributed 21 points for the Jazz, while Mike Conley totaled 17 points and six assists off the bench in his first game back after missing nearly a month with a knee injury.
The T-Wolves scored the final nine points of the first half to go ahead 61-46, but the Jazz turned things around in the third quarter and tied it at 79-79 on one of Conley’s three 3s.
Minnesota scored the next six points to regain control and never relinquished the lead in the second half. Kelly Olynyk and Conley hit consecutive triples to help Utah pull within two at 106-104, but Russell and Co. took over from there. Russell scored 20 points in the fourth quarter.
Gobert added a punctuation dunk in the waning moments.
Kyle Anderson had a strong outing for Minnesota with 15 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds, and Anthony Edwards scored 14.
Utah, which travels to Denver for a Saturday night back-to-back game, concluded a six-game homestand with a 3-3 record.
–Field Level Media
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