Utah Jazz's Joe Ingles, left, of Australia, and Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins chase a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, in Minneapolis. AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Minneapolis, Minn. • The Minnesota Timberwolves were able to make a clutch jumper. The Utah Jazz weren’t. In 48 minutes that featured almost 200 combined possessions, 10 ties and 10 lead changes, a highly contested game took 27.5 seconds to decide.
In that time frame, Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer while falling down in the corner to give the Timberwolves a two-point lead. It was the key shot in sending the Jazz to a 100-97 defeat at the Target Center for their first loss on the young season, as Joe Johnson missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“We certainly had our chances,” Utah center Rudy Gobert said. “ We hung in there and we competed. But we didn’t make the plays we had to at the end.”
Turnovers became a storyline for the Jazz on Friday night, and went a long way toward deciding their fate. There were 19 of them in all, as Utah’s a team clearly still adjusting to Ricky Rubio’s playing style.
Utah players were surprised when Rubio would whip a pass into traffic, which led to fumbled passes. Once, Rubio lobbed a transition pass to Gobert through three players. It hit Utah’s star center in the hands and rolled out of bounds.
“It’s different from the last few years,” Jazz forward Joe Ingles said. “It’s something that we have to get used to, but it’s definitely going to be good for us. It’s the way we want to play. He helps us a lot in that area, we know if we run he’s going to pass. We have a lot of new guys, so it’s going to take a little time.”
The most critical turnover, however, had nothing to do with Rubio. Up 96-95, with 29 seconds remaining, the Jazz forced a Minnesota miss, and Gobert secured the rebound. Harassed, he tried to outlet the ball to Ingles, who wasn’t looking, which led to a Jimmy Butler steal. Crawford hit his dagger of a shot a few seconds later.
“I just turned it over,” Gobert said. “It was my mistake.”
Still, the Jazz had opportunities. They held the Timberwolves to 44-percent shooting from the field. They figured out ways to stay competitive and gave themselves a chance to win in the waning moments.
Utah rallied from 10 points down in the last five minutes when it looked as if Minnesota would cruise to a win. Rubio made some mistakes, but he was dominant at times, scoring 19 points, handing out 10 assists and grabbing five rebounds. In his first game back in Minnesota since being traded to the Jazz, he pushed the ball relentlessly, finding open teammates and making shots. He was Utah’s best player, particularly in the second half when he willed his team back into the game.
“Ricky’s kind of stoic and he shows poise and calm,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “But it’s burning inside. Obviously, he was back in Minnesota and you want him to play well. You can feel that and have a lot of respect for what he’s done here. He has a lot of passion and you could see that tonight.”
Utah’s biggest win on Friday? Rodney Hood escaped without a major injury. With six minutes remaining, Hood was carried off the court with what appeared to be an achilles injury. He went down with little contact. He grabbed the back of his leg, and couldn’t put any weight on the his leg.
Storylines<br>Utah places all five starters in double figures.<br>Jazz forward Joe Johnson misses a 3-pointer at the buzzer that could’ve tied the game.<br>Utah falls to 1-1 on the season.
But he’s been diagnosed with a calf strain. He will receive an MRI on Saturday morning, but sources tell The Tribune his Achilles is fine. Hood scored a team-high 20 points Friday night, and the Jazz sorely missed his offense down the stretch. But compared to what could have been, a calf strain sounds minor.
Defensively, the Jazz were once again good. Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins scored a game-high 21 points, but went 7 of 19 from the field. Jimmy Butler was held to 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting. But the Jazz couldn’t control Crawford, who came off the bench and scored 17 points, doing much of his damage in the fourth quarter.
“We let him get going,” Snyder said. “I thought we competed defensively tonight. Minnesota’s a good offensive team with guys who can make shots. Sometimes guys are going to make shots when we play good defense. But we competed. And whatever we are right now, hopefully we’ll be better in a week and a month from now.”
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