Records aside, the stats say there is probably not a dime’s worth of difference between Utah and Minnesota, two of the younger teams in the NBA.
So, with the Timberwolves playing back-to-back games and nursing a few injuries, it was up to the Jazz to exploit their advantage. That’s what they did Saturday night in EnergySolutions Arena by bumping up the tempo as well as Minnesota’s players.
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Timberwolves tank late
During the final five minutes, Minnesota’s Rick Rubio scored twice. In between, the Timberwolves missed six consecutive shots.
Utah outscored the Timberwolves 8-2 down the stretch, including two baskets by Al Jefferson.
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The results were obvious down the stretch as Utah (10-5) pulled away for a 108-98 victory.
"You feel it in your legs, in the last four [minutes] especially," T-Wolves (7-9) guard Ricky Rubio said. "We don’t have to complain about that. Sometimes it’s the opposite thing. We rest the day before and receive a team … that played back-to-back, and that’s how it is."
Rubio, Minnesota’s flashy Spanish rookie point guard, pulled his team to within four points, 100-96, with about 5 1/2 minutes to play. From that point, the Wolves missed six consecutive shots — a sign of tired legs — to go with a couple of turnovers.
The Jazz weren’t great down the stretch, but played well enough to rebound from Thursday night’s disappointing loss to Dallas. Meanwhile, Minnesota had just defeated the L.A. Clippers on Friday in an energy-sapping come-from-behind effort that came down to the last shot.
"We just didn’t do enough things," Minnesota coach Rick Adelman said. "It was a very physical game. [Utah] came out and they’re going to do a lot of grabbing and holding and bumping. We have to find a way, if not called, to play through it."
Coming into Saturday’s game, the Timberwolves were on a three-game win streak. They played with confidence. Even when the Jazz went on a 20-8 run in the third quarter to open a 14-point lead, the Wolves attacked and cut the margin to three and eventually tied the game in the fourth period.
Even with a handful of players out hurt, Minnesota challenged the Jazz. There were 13 lead changes and 12 ties in the first half and seven players, led by Rubio’s 17, scored in double figures.
It all came apart in the final five minutes.
"We took them out of their sets," said Utah’s Paul Millsap, who finished with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds. "The effort wasn’t really there the whole game, but we turned it on in the fourth quarter."
It was a lesson in finishing.
"I felt like we came out well," Minnesota’s Kevin Love said. "They hit big shots and executed well. We need to bring it every single night."
Twitter:@tribmarty
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