This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By the time the game-deciding run was finished, the Utah Jazz redeveloped their defensive identity over the course of one quarter.
And it was a transformation that seemingly happened before the eyes of 18,850 at Vivint Smart Home Arena. By the end of the third quarter, Utah's offense was a smooth engine, humming along. By the end of the third quarter, the Jazz defense had tightened, resembling what had been by the end of last season.
Utah would go on to handily beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-90 on Friday night. But it wasn't without multiple hiccups. In a way, that's what made the Jazz' second-half domination all the more impressive.
"That third quarter was huge for us," Utah forward Gordon Hayward said. "It's always good to have momentum heading into the fourth quarter, especially with a young and athletic team like Minnesota. We didn't want to give them a chance to win the game. We started the quarter really well, and we ended it well."
The ending to that third is what really won the game for the Jazz, 14 consecutive points borne of defense and the ability to force the Timberwolves into uncomfortable spots. In some ways, the run came out of nowhere, especially since Utah allowed Minnesota to score 55 points in the first half.
But the stats in the second half told the story. The Timberwolves scored 14 points in the third quarter and 35 points total in the last two quarters. Hayward struggled offensively, scoring 12 points in all, but was a monster defensively on Minnesota star Andrew Wiggins, holding the athletic shooting guard to just five points on 2-for-11 shooting.
So even though rookie-of-the-year candidate Karl-Anthony Towns dropped in a career-high 32 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and even though Gorgui Dieng was fantastic in his own right with 20 points and 15 rebounds, the Jazz essentially strangled the remainder of Minnesota's offense.
In the end, the Timberwolves simply couldn't score when needed.
"I thought the way we defended was very important, especially in the second half," Utah center Rudy Gobert said. "I thought we picked it up defensively in the second half. I thought we made too many mistakes in the first half. We were just more focused on both ends after halftime and it made a difference."
On Friday night, for the first time in three months, the Jazz had Gobert and Derrick Favors back in the starting lineup at the same time, and the pair didn't disappoint. Gobert garnered his seventh double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. He blocked two shots and came up with two steals, all while battling Towns in the paint.
Favors may have been even more impressive, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Rodney Hood once again was terrific from the perimeter, scoring a team-high 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Hood, the second-year shooting guard, has scored at least 20 points in three of his past four games. Whenever the Jazz needed a bucket on this night, he usually provided it.
"We kept the pressure up tonight," Favors said. "The Timberwolves are a very good team. They have some really good young players over there. We wanted to be physical on the defensive end and go through our sets on the offensive end and hit shots. That's what we did tonight."
The Jazz have won consecutive games for the first time in nearly a month and have started their season-long six-game homestand by winning two of their first three. Utah is now 21-25, and in a tie with the Portland Trail Blazers for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.
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Storylines
R The Jazz tally nine assists in the first quarter, which ties Utah's most in the opening quarter this season.
• Utah is 8-3 on the season when scoring over 100 points at home.
• Derrick Favors scores 20 points for the 10th time this year.
More coverage
• Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors are both in the Jazz's starting lineup for the first time since Nov. 30. > C6 • Point guard Raul Neto shows that he is making strides. > C6