Andrei Kirilenko came back to Utah for the first time since signing with Minnesota, and he scored 12 points against his former squad. Alexey Shved and Kevin Love each had 13 points for the Wolves. It was an offensively-frustrating night for Minnesota, only converting 12-of-40 attempts in the second half. The Wolves were outscored 56-36 in the paint and 25-8 on the break. Gordon Hayward (17 points) and Enes Kanter (15) both came off the bench to lead Utah in scoring. Key Matchup: Al Jefferson and Nikola Pekovic With a former Minnesota center coming to play against the current one, there promises to be a good battle down low tonight. Jefferson, now in his ninth season, has been a model of consistency scoring the ball for Utah, posting double-digit scoring marks for 24 straight games. Pekovic has been consistent as well, only dipping below 10 points in six games all year. On one hand, you’ve got a hardened, NBA veteran who is a descendant of the high school-to-NBA era, joining the Celtics at age 18. On the other hand is Pekovic, who came up as a 25-year-old rookie that had already experienced success overseas. They are only a year apart in age, but six NBA seasons separate the two. Watch Jefferson and Pekovic go at it and try to defend their respective baskets tonight. Injury report presented by TSR Injury Law The Timberwolves return home tonight closely monitoring the status of both Andrei Kirilenko and J.J. Barea. Kirilenko has missed the last four games with a strained right quad and is listed questionable tonight. Barea missed Sunday’s game with a left mid-foot sprain, then returned for limited minutes on Monday in Cleveland. For the Jazz, shooting guard Gordon Hayward has missed time with a sprained right shoulder and will likely not play until after the All-Star Break, according to Salt Lake City’s Deseret News. Guard Mo Williams is scheduled to have the pin removed from his surgically-repaired right thumb over the All-Star Break and is listed out until late-February.