This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The opponents on their schedule this week could make up a decent chunk of the NBA's draft lottery this summer, where ping pong balls matter most.
But after a disheartening defeat Wednesday night, Rudy Gobert wasn't talking about table tennis.
"Tonight we were probably the worst team I ever seen," the Utah Jazz center said. "It's just about us. Just be ready, come out and have some balls."
The Jazz's 107-80 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves — at a time when the stakes are getting higher and the playoffs are six weeks away — was as puzzling as it was disappointing.
The Jazz (37-24) find themselves fighting for home-court advantage in the first round of their first playoff berth in five years. A win would have helped pad a razor-thin advantage over the Los Angeles Clippers in the standings. Instead, they laid an egg, turning in the worst home loss in Quin Snyder's tenure as head coach.
"It's bothering, playing soft like that and no emotions," Gobert said. "We're soft, everybody playing [with his] head down. We get our ass kicked and nobody reacts. It's frustrating for sure."
Utah led once during the contest: When point guard George Hill opened the game with an 18-foot jumper. It would also be Hill's only basket on a night when Utah's leaders faltered.
"It's definitely on me for this one," Gordon Hayward said. "Didn't bring it tonight. Didn't have our guys ready to play."
Hayward finished with 13 points, nearly 10 off his average. Danté Exum led Utah with 15 points. Forward Derrick Favors finished the game with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Gobert had nine points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Jazz were without starting shooting guard Rodney Hood, who was sidelined by soreness in his right knee. And they looked like they were fighting some hangover after suffering a bitter defeat the night earlier in Oklahoma City.
"I don't want to point to last night," Snyder said. "That's not the type of perspective you need to have to be a successful team. We need to own the game, own what we did, and be better. There's no magic to it."
Minnesota broke the game open in the second quarter, closing the half on a 20-5 run. And when Shabazz Muhammad banked in a turnaround jumper late in the fourth, the lead ballooned to 30.
Muhammad finished with 18 points off the bench. And Minnesota got plenty of punch from young stars Andrew Wiggins (20 points) and Karl-Anthony (21 points, 15 rebounds).
"Utah is a terrific team. Quin has done an unbelievable job with them," Minnesota coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Over the course of a season, you have a couple games like that. Everything went our way."
The Jazz, meanwhile, could barely get anything to go. Utah shot 38.9 percent from the field, connecting on 35 of 90 field goal attempts, including 4-of-19 shooting from 3-point territory.
"We played poorly and didn't have a lot of energy and didn't play well," Snyder said. "It's a disappointing game. You have games like hits. Hopefully they are few and far between and near never. But tonight was a tough night."
Hayward put it more succinctly.
"We got crushed," the Jazz forward said.
Twitter: @aaronfalk —
Storylines
R Danté Exum scores a season-high 15 points off the bench, while starting point guard George Hill finishes with just 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting.
• Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns has 21 points and 15 rebounds, good for his 46th double-double of the season.