Timberwolves-Jazz Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jan 21 2012 2:56AM

The Utah Jazz are exceeding many people's expectations this season. Lately, the Minnesota Timberwolves are turning some heads as well.

The Timberwolves look to win four straight for the first the first time in nearly two years when they visit the Jazz on Saturday night.

A strong second half helped Minnesota to a thrilling 101-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Ricky Rubio hit a tying 3 with 20 seconds left and Kevin Love's 3-pointer at the buzzer capped the Timberwolves' rally from a 15-point deficit.

After giving up 31 points in the first quarter, Minnesota (7-8) trailed 59-48 at the half, but slowed the Clippers after the break, holding them to 38.2 percent shooting in the second half while outscoring them 29-19 in the fourth quarter.

It was a second straight comeback victory for Minnesota, which rallied from a 16-point deficit to defeat Detroit 93-85 on Wednesday.

"In the last two games we've missed a ton of shots, but our defense has picked up and we've executed down the stretch and we've given ourselves a chance to win," Love said. "So if we can continue to do that, eventually our offense will pick up and we'll be able to win a lot of ballgames."

Love finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Darko Milicic had a team-high 22 points. Rubio had missed his first 10 shots before the critical 3-pointer. He also had six rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Rubio came in averaging 10.7 points, 8.3 assists and 4.3 rebounds and has provided some excitement for a Timberwolves franchise that has been accustomed to losing. Minnesota is looking to win four straight for the first time since Jan. 29-Feb. 6, 2010. After that, the Timberwolves lost 29 of their final 31 games that season.

After missing the playoffs last season for the first time in five years while seeing the departures of several key veterans, there were some lowered expectations for one of the NBA's most consistent franchises. However, the Jazz have gotten off to a solid start.

After winning eight of nine, Utah (9-5) saw its three-game winning streak snapped following a 94-91 loss to Dallas on Thursday. Al Jefferson scored 22 points and Paul Millsap added 16 points and 13 boards.

It was a physical matchup with Derrick Favors getting ejected late in the third quarter after throwing the ball into the stands to protest a call. Still, the play of Favors and some of his young teammates drew the praise of Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle.

Second-year pro Gordon Hayward finished with nine points while rookie Alec Burks added 10. Enes Kanter, the third overall pick in the 2011 draft, played 13 minutes and had seven rebounds.

"Tyrone Corbin is doing a great job. They have lost a lot of key guys - (Andrei) Kirilenko and (Mehmet) Okur," Carlisle said. "These young guys are playing hard and playing within the system and their big guys are getting better and better."

Like the Timberwolves, there's a lot of excitement surrounding the Jazz's young players. Helping their development are the team's veterans, including Millsap.

Millsap has been on a tear recently, averaging 21.3 points and shooting 58.1 percent the last six games.

The Jazz have won three straight at home against the Timberwolves, although Love has averaged 23.3 points and 14.3 rebounds in those games.

Millsap scores 26 to power Jazz past Timberwolves

Posted Jan 22 2012 2:04AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) Utah fans were yelling "All Star, All Star" after Paul Millsap hit another basket in the fourth quarter.

The unassuming Millsap claims he didn't even hear the chants.

"I didn't even know people were chanting, you just brought it to my attention. I sure appreciate it, though," said Millsap, who scored 12 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to power the Utah Jazz past the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-98 on Saturday night.

Matched up against Kevin Love, Millsap shot 6 of 7 in the final period on a variety of fallaway jumpers and shots at the rim to help the Jazz win for the ninth time in 11 games.

Millsap doesn't mind if he isn't mentioned with the best power players in the game.

"If people look past you, you can fly under the radar, you know?" Millsap said. "We're just trying to get better and trying to win games."

Ricky Rubio, who had 17 points and 11 assists, made a jumper with 5:01 to play to cut the Jazz lead to 100-96. But Minnesota ran out of gas one night after a dramatic win in Los Angeles against the Clippers.

"You feel it in your legs a lot, in the last part especially," Rubio said.

The Timberwolves missed six straight shots and had two turnovers down the stretch.

"We got stops," said Al Jefferson, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds. "The offense is going to be there for us but when we play defensively like we did down the stretch we can be really good."

CJ Miles added 18 points as the Jazz shot 52 percent and outrebounded Minnesota 46-35.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Rubio and Luke Ridnour ignored the action on the floor and berated the officials.

"We have to find a way that if stuff's not called we can play our way through it. Too many times tonight we let it affect us too much and you got to learn how to do that," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said.

Love had 15 points and eight rebounds, but shot 5 of 21 from the field and was visibly frustrated at times. He committed four turnovers and was whistled for a technical in the third.

"It was a tough shooting night," Love said. "Most of my shots are right there, in and out. There will be a point in the season where I'm going to go on a hell of a run, I know I am."

It was a contrast to Friday night's game when Love hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer after Rubio's 3 tied the game with 20 seconds to play to help the Timberwolves nip the Clippers.

The Timberwolves had won three straight for the first time since a four-game stretch from Jan. 29 to Feb. 6, 2010.

In a matchup of two young teams on the rise, the Jazz rebounded from a deflating home loss to Dallas on Thursday and relied on Millsap when the going got tough.

"It was very important, especially being a young team to bounce back after a devastating loss like Thursday night. This was a big win for us, a big challenge, and we responded," Millsap said.

The 6-foot-8 forward is riding a hot streak, averaging 22 points and shooting over 60 percent the last seven games while facing some of the NBA's top power forwards.

"Paul just continues to work to get better. As a result, we're better because he's so effective on the floor. He's been doing it all year," Utah coach Ty Corbin said.

Raja Bell's jumper capped a 10-2 run to lift Utah's lead to 70-58 and he then hit another jump shot to make it 76-62 for the Jazz with 5:26 left in the third quarter.

Bell had 12 points and Earl Watson played the final 15 minutes and finished with 10 points and seven assists.

"That's what we need. He sparks us and we follow him," Millsap said of Watson.

Behind the playmaking of Rubio, the Timberwolves fought back with a 13-2 run to tie the game at 84. Wayne Ellington opener the fourth-quarter scoring with a 3-pointer to draw the Wolves even for the first time since the first half.

But nothing came easy for the Timberwolves after that.

"We took them out of their sets, out of what they wanted to do," Millsap said. "We had a lot of deflections in the fourth quarter. We got out and guarded them."

Derrick Williams had 15 points and Wes Johnson scored 13, while Darko Milicic, Ridnour and Ellington each had 10 points for the Timberwolves, who return to Minnesota to play three of the next four at home.

Notes: Key reserve Josh Howard missed his fourth straight game with a strained left quadriceps. ... Minnesota played without J.J. Barea (sprained ankle) for the fifth time in six games and Michael Beasley (right foot sprain) for the ninth consecutive contest. Fellow Wolves Brad Miller, Martell Webster and Malcolm Lee have missed the entire season. ... Derrick Favors expressed surprise at the $25,000 fine he received Saturday for throwing a ball into the stands during Utah's 94-91 loss Thursday night against Dallas. He said he may appeal.

Notebook: Jazz 108, Timberwolves 98

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 22, 2012 12:39AM

THE FACTS: Against a player regarded among the elite at his position, Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap made a statement.

Millsap scored 26 points -- including 12 in the fourth quarter -- to lead the Jazz to a 108-98 win over Kevin Love and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night. Millsap also had nine rebounds, which was one more than Love recorded. Al Jefferson and C.J. Miles each had 18 points for Utah. Jefferson also had 12 rebounds.

Minnesota was led by rookie sensation Ricky Rubio, who had 17 points and 11 assists.

QUOTABLE: "I didn't know people were chanting it, it was just brought to my attention. I sure appreciate it though."
-- Jazz forward Millsap on Utah fans chanting "All-Star" during one of his trips to the free-throw line.

THE STAT: The Jazz had to beat the Timberwolves on the boards to win the game, and they did just that. They had a 46-35 edge on the boards over Minnesota, a team that features one of the best rebounders in the league in Love.

TURNING POINT: After squandering what was a 14-point lead midway through the third quarter, the Jazz finally pulled away from the pesky Timberwolves in the final minutes. Back-to-back baskets by Millsap and Jefferson gave the Jazz a nice cushion at 104-96. Jefferson's close-range jumper came with 3:17 remaining, and Minnesota never got closer.

HOT: Utah's starting guards were efficient. Raja Bell shot 5-for-6 and scored 12 points. Devin Harris, much maligned after Utah's loss to Dallas on Thursday and the subject of trade rumors, rebounded nicely with nine points on 4-for-5 shooting with three assists in 22 minutes. Minnesota's Wes Johnson averaged just 5.7 points per contest entering Saturday's game, but topped that total after taking three shots in the first quarter. He had 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting and six rebounds. Luke Ridnour gave the Timberwolves a lift by shooting 3-for-4 from 3-point range and scoring 10 points.

NOT: Love, who had 15 points and eight rebounds, had one of his least productive outings of the season. He had a rough shooting night, going 5-for-21 and was 1-for-7 from 3-point range. He finished well below his averages in points (24.7) and rebounds (14.5) entering Saturday's game. It was the first time this season that Love didn't record a double-double.

QUOTABLE II: "That's one of those thing we knew we had to take away from them -- rebounding. They have the top rebounder in the league on their team and everybody else kind of feeds off him. We won that battle and it helped us win the game."
-- Utah center Jefferson on the Jazz outrebounding the Timberwolves.

GOOD MOVE: So what do you do if you have a struggling starting point guard and a backup that's running the offense more efficiently? Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin's solution was to play them together -- and it worked in the final minutes of the game. Starting point guard Harris and backup Earl Watson were on the floor together in the final two minutes. Watson ran the offense, and Harris was a threat at shooting guard. Watson assisted on a layup by Millsap to put Utah ahead 106-96, and then finished off the Timberwolves with a layup following an assist from Jefferson.

ROOKIE WATCH: The Timberwolves had a big advantage in play from their rookies. Rubio put on a show with no-look passes and an alley-oop to fellow first-year player Derrick Williams. Rubio showed off some speed as well, beating Utah's Derrick Favors to the hoop for a layup when Favors had a good angle on him. Williams shot 6-for-11 and scored a career-high 15 points. For the Jazz, Alec Burks is shooting too much and not passing enough. He shot 2-for-8, scored four points and had no assists. Enes Kanter, taken one pick after Williams in last summer's draft at third overall, had six points on 3-for-3 shooting in 11 minutes.

NOTABLE: Miles scored in double figures for the third straight game, while Bell tied a season-high in points. The Timberwolves had their three-game winning streak snapped.

UP NEXT: For the Timberwolves, Monday vs. Rockets, Wednesday @ Dallas, Friday vs. Spurs. For the Jazz, Wednesday vs. Raptors, Friday @ Dallas, Saturday vs. Kings.

• Timberwolves: Miller, Webster
• Jazz: --

• Timberwolves: Love
• Jazz: Corbin

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 13

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #6 Tony Brown, #68 Marat Kogut
• Attendance: 19911
• Duration: 2:02