Heading into Sunday afternoon's NBA collision with the Utah Jazz, Minnesota had shown itself to be better than the team starting the season with just five wins in its first 35 games. Since that time (Jan. 21), the Wolves have won 13 games, showcased a future All-Star in Al Jefferson, and gotten contributions from myriad young players full of talent.

Indeed, with a roster in which only Marko Jaric surpasses the age of 25 (among Wolves currently seeing minutes), making the playoffs this season was less likely than a No. 16 seed beating a No. 1 in the NCAAs. But for Utah, who lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference Finals last season, garnering a playoff spot was mandatory.

And, with a 48-25 record, the Jazz sat 13 games above .500 entering Sunday's game, leading Denver by three games in the Northwest Division. But in the logjam that is the Western Conference, Utah could end up having to go on the road in the first round, even as a three or four seed, since teams like Phoenix/L.A. and San Antonio/Houston could have a better record despite not winning respective divisions. The reason we bring this up? Utah is 16-21 on the road, including a 111-100 loss at Target Center on Feb. 26.

Make that 16-22.

Behind a balanced offense and some feisty defense, the Wolves beat Utah 108-103 for the second-straight time this season in Minneapolis. The two biggest plays of the game for the Wolves came first on a Marko Jaric three with 2:20 remaining, and second when Kirk Snyder slithered in for an and-1 with 45 seconds left to put Minnesota up 104-98.

That is, until Rashad McCants responded to a Carlos Boozer layup with a 17-foot jumper with 16.1 seconds left to ice the game and stick a mini-wrench in Utah's push for playoff seeding.

Points in the paint (56 for Minnesota), defensive rebounding (seven offensive boards for Minny in the second half) and turnovers (18) are three things that have plagued the Jazz on the road throughout the season, and accordingly, we took a look those issues as emphasized on Sunday. We'd be concerned that the measurement wasn't accurate due to the absence of regular starters Andrei Kirilenko (muscle spasms in his calf) and Mehmet Okur (stomach virus), but Minnesota's Feb. 26 win featured both of those players.

Here's how the categories illuminated during Sunday's "Wild West Showdown" at Target Center:

Points in the Paint
To: Utah
From: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Rashad McCants and Randy Foye
Message: We each scored at least 20 points when we beat you 111-100 at Target Center on Feb. 26, and we were all able to delve into the paint against your not-great interior defense. You rank 17th in paint points given up (40.1), which is the biggest reason why we don't think you can beat the Spurs (Duncan, Parker), Lakers (Bryant, Gasol) or Suns (Shaq, Amare) in a seven-game series. You actually score the ball very well in the paint (47.8), but so do Golden State (48.3, league leader), Denver (46.4), L.A. (43.8) and Phoenix (43.7). We rank just behind Phoenix at 42.7 per evening, eighth in the league.
Wild West Showdown: Minnesota's ability to score in the paint was the biggest factor in Minnesota's win. A play indicative of Utah's struggle to defend Al Jefferson and Co. came near the close of the first half, when Jefferson muscled his way to an offensive board off his own miss, only to miss again. Utah, however, couldn't clear that miss either, and Craig Smith rose to Minnesota's second offensive board of the possession, and converted to give the Wolves a 43-42 lead just before half. Minnesota finished with 56 points in the paint.

Road Woes
Utah is absolutely terrific at home (32-4, 1st in the NBA). Their losing a game in Salt Lake City is generally less likely than Marko Jaric losing a game of FIFA 2008 on Playstation 3 (he's ridiculously good, trust us). At the same time, Utah sucks on the road (16-22) compared to other Western playoff teams, an obvious and legitimate concern. After Sunday's loss, Utah's record is right now only the fifth best. Can the Jazz beat the teams they currently trail - New Orleans, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Houston - in a series with one more road game? Maybe, but it doesn't look like it.
WWS: The Jazz struggled yet again on the road. Even with the excuse of missing two starters, Utah has one All-Star and one player who should have been an All-Star, and isn't any younger than Minnesota. In such a tight playoff race, "At Minnesota" is not a game contenders want to see show up red on ESPN.com, even if it's happened to Phoenix, Golden State and Utah (already).

Play from the Ps
Point Guard: If Deron Williams were a Pop Tart, he would be the best-tasting one (Brown Sugar, obviously). D-Will can score (19.5 ppg), shoot (51.5 percent), dime (10.4), and he runs the Jerry Sloan pick and roll like John Stockton reincarnated (to Carlos Boozer's Karl Malone). He's led the Jazz in assists in all but 11 games, and ranks third in the NBA in assists. Only two guards in the NBA (Golden State's Monta Ellis and Toronto's Jose Calderon) shoot better than Williams from the field. Even with Chris Paul, Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd and Tony Parker as potential Western Conference playoff matchups (great point guard play if there ever was), Utah can feel good about it's No. 1. There really isn't anything to worry about there.
WWS: In the first half, Williams missed 3-of-4 threes, but still kept his team in the game by scoring nine points and dishing six assists, along with two turnovers. Wolves PG Randy Foye managed five points, three dimes and a board in three fewer minutes, while Marko Jaric added four assists. Williams finished with just 15 points on 5-of-15 from the floor, though he did register a game-high 13 assists. Foye and Jaric combined for 19 points and 10 assists.

Power Forward:
Like Minnesota's Al Jefferson, Boozer is one of only four players in the NBA to average 20+ points and 10+ rebounds. He has 50 double-doubles, and made the All-Star team out West for the second-straight year, where he scored 14 points and grabbed 10 boards in 17 minutes. But how does he match up with the rest of the Western contenders? He has a clear edge over Luis Scola, Kenyon Martin and Al Harrington and David West, while he's in the same category as Amare Stoudemire. But again, we get to San Antonio and L.A., and Tim Duncan certainly negates Boozer, while if Andrew Bynum is healthy and Pau Gasol plays the four, the Lakers have way too much size for Boozer and friends (Lamar Odom at the three!). Without much help on the low block
WWS: After one half, Boozer amassed just six points on 3-of-7 shooting, and he did not get to the foul line once, which is usually a big strength for Carlos. Furthermore, the Wolves don't play the best low-post defense in the NBA. Boozer did grab six boards. Minnesota's low-post threat Jefferson made only 4-of-12 shots in the first half, but he converted 5-of-5 from the foul line and finished with 13 points and four boards in the half. Boozer got it going in the second half, however, and finished with 25 and 10, to 22 and eight for Big Al.

Run Forrest ... Run
While the Jazz run more than they have in the past, they still manage just 11.5 fastbreak points per game (17th in the NBA), preferring run that pick and roll to perfection. Minnesota doesn't run much either (27th), preferring to feed Al Jefferson more often than not. However, when you look at Utah's game-by-game schedule, you see that the Jazz are a combined 7-2 against the league's top three running teams (Golden State, Denver and Phoenix), even though Utah gives up an average of 13.5 fastbreak points a game, 7th-worst in the NBA. So, apparently, you can run on the Jazz, but it doesn't mean you can beat them. One reason is that even if it's not from running, Utah still scores a lot (5th in the league), and is the second-best shooting team. The Suns are a different team since acquiring Shaq, but Golden State and Denver seem to be good matchups for the Jazz.
WWS: Led by Corey Brewer, the Wolves were actually pretty solid on the fastbreak on Sunday, while the Jazz barely ran at all. Total for the game: 12 points for Minnesota to just six for Utah. Brewer had one of his best games for the Wolves, with 16 points, seven boards and three dimes.

Windex Man?
Utah doesn't rebound the basketball very well. In fact, only three teams grab fewer defensive boards. Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix all rank in the league's 10 top in defensive boards. The Wolves come in at 23rd, though they 're 12th on the offensive side to Utah's 14th. This is not a statistical category in which any team wants to struggle.
WWS: Defensive board: With Minnesota up 85-80 around the nine-minute mark of the fourth quarter, the Jazz played great defense for 23 seconds, forcing a 30-foot jumper from Rashad McCants as the shot clock expired. But when the team really needed a defensive board, Kirk Snyder flew in to clean the glass and finished a layup to put Minnesota up 87-80, its biggest lead of the night to that point. Second-chance points like that can kill any team, let alone a Western Conference playoff contender. The Wolves had 22 second-chance points on the evening.

Treat it Like it's your Baby
What if not turnovers decide a basketball game? OK, a lot of thing, but taking care of the rock is a hoops premium whether you're playing at Lifetime Fitness or on the NBA hardwood. The Jazz, however, rank 21st in terms of taking care of the ball. For a reference point, San Antonio is 4th, Dallas 5th, Golden State 7th (surprisingly) the Lakers 11th and New Orleans 3rd. Minnesota comes in 23rd.
WWS: The Jazz turned the ball over 18 times against the Wolves, to 13 for Minnesota, which was definitely a factor in Minnesota's victory.