Mitchell HansenWeb Editorial AssociateTwitter
8 p.m., Vivint Smart Home Arena Where to Watch: Fox Sports North Plus Where to Listen: 830 WCCO
The Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Utah Jazz at 8 p.m. Friday night in game three of their current four-game road trip.
The Wolves come into the game at 31-47 overall and are in 13th place in the Western Conference. The Jazz enter at 48-30 on the season and are in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Here are a few tidbits ahead of Friday night’s game:
- The game is the second game of a back-to-back for Minnesota. The Wolves played in Portland on Thursday night.
- After tonight, Minnesota has three games left in the regular season, including the final home game on April 11.
- Utah has gone 5-5 in its last 10 games. Minnesota is 3-7 during that same span.
Coming Off Of…
Minnesota is coming off of a 105-98 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday in Portland.
Andrew Wiggins had 36 points and eight rebounds and Karl-Anthony Towns had 24 points, 16 rebounds and four assists to lead the Wolves. Ricky Rubio had 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Shabazz Muhammad had seven points, and Gorgui Dieng added four points and 11 rebounds.
Utah is coming off of a 106-87 win over the Trail Blazers on Tuesday in Portland.
Gordon Hayward had 30 points and four rebounds and Rudy Gobert had 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Jazz. Joe Johnson had 13 points, Shelvin Mack had 12 points and five assists, and Dante Exum and Jeff Withey had 10 points each.
Last Matchup
Utah holds a 2-1 season series advantage over Minnesota this season. The last matchup came on March 1 in Utah, where the Wolves came away with a 107-80 win.
In that game, Towns had 21 points and 15 rebounds, Wiggins had 20 points, and Muhammad had 18 points to lead Minnesota. Nemanja Bjelica had 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Rubio had 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds, Brandon Rush had eight points, and Dieng added seven points and six rebounds.
For the Jazz, Exum had 15 points off the bench to lead the way. Hayward had 13 points and four rebounds, Derrick Favors had 10 points and 12 rebounds, Gobert had nine points and eight rebounds and Alec Burks had eight points and seven rebounds.
Key Matchup: Andrew Wiggins vs. Gordon Hayward
One matchup to watch on Friday night will come between Minnesota’s Andrew Wiggins and Utah’s Gordon Hayward.
In three against Hayward this season, Wiggins has averaged 16.3 points, three assists and one steal per game. Hayward has averaged 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game against Wiggins this season.
In his third NBA year, Wiggins is averaging a career-high 23.3 points, four rebounds, 2.3 assists and one steal per game.
Hayward, in his seventh season, is averaging 21.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.
Injuries
Utah: Raul Neto (groin), Rodney Hood (knee), George Hill (groin) and Favors (knee) are questionable.
Minnesota: Nemanja Bjelica (foot), Zach LaVine (knee) and Nikola Pekovic (ankle) are out.
Probable Starters
Utah: PG – Exum, SG – Ingles, SF – Hayward, PF – Diaw, C – Gobert
Minnesota: PG – Rubio, SG – Rush, SF – Wiggins, PF – Dieng, C – Towns