Jazz beat T-Wolves 116-108 as two T-Wolves, Jae Crowder ejected

There was 5:20 left in the fourth quarter when Jeff Teague sent Ricky Rubio sprawling at the feet of the Minnesota Timberwolves bench.

Rubio’s teammates on the Jazz swarmed around Teague, who was in turn surrounded by his teammates. For the next few moments, it seemed a match might have found its fuel — no less than three fouls were issued, with Teague getting ejected.

In that heated moment, Rubio stepped forward and made both of his free throws as the Jazz cruised in the final minutes of a 116-108 victory — a needed one as Utah wrapped up a six-game homestand Friday night.

Chippy it might have been, with Teague and Karl-Anthony Towns getting the boot for Minnesota and Jae Crowder for the Jazz, it marked a milestone for Rubio (13 points, 7 assists), who earned his first win over his former team of six seasons.

Rubio declined to say if he thought the hip check by Teague was a cheap shot, but he allowed that he felt proud that his teammates — led by Crowder — came to his defense.

“It’s great: That’s what a team means,” Rubio said. “I’m so proud of them to get my back. [Jae] is gonna be a great teammate for me forever.”

The win also kept the Jazz afloat in a crowded Western Conference playoff race on a night when the Thunder, Nuggets and Clippers all won. The Jazz remain in 10th place, 2.5 games out of the eighth spot with 20 games remaining.

“I don’t know that we’re thinking right now about tiebreakers and standings,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “We just need to keep competing and keep winning. Those other things take care of themselves.”

Utah was led by a dominating performance from Rudy Gobert, who gathered 26 points, 16 rebounds and had four blocks.

The most memorable defensive sequence from the center came in the first half, when he was whistled for a goaltend. Gobert followed with a block on each of the ensuing two possessions, vamping for a screaming crowd and forcing Minnesota to take a timeout.

“I wanted to make sure I got a good one,” Gobert said with a smirk. “I watched it, and it wasn’t goaltending. But it happens.”

The Jazz would be forgiven for being a little nervous entering Friday night: Towns averaged 22 points and 12 rebounds in his 10 previous games against Utah. The game was also being officiated by Kane Fitzgerald, who has a chippy history with Quin Snyder.

But as it unfolded, those two subplots turned on each other: In the final minute of the second quarter, Towns earned two technical fouls, the second of which seemed to be harmless talk. But with Fitzgerald’s whistle, the second most-played star this season was cut off after 13 minutes and 13 points.

Without either of its All-Stars — Towns and injured Jimmy Butler — Minnesota scrapped, led by Jeff Teague and Andrew Wiggins (52 combined points). The most threatening salvo came in the fourth quarter, when the Timberwolves hit three consecutive 3-pointers to narrow a double-digit gap. Several times in the fourth quarter, the Jazz led only by two.

“They have other weapons,” Snyder said. “Guys end up having big games when guys go out, because they come together as a group.”

But as they had the night before in Portland, the Timberwolves faded down the stretch. It coincided by another fourth-quarter surge by Mitchell, who scored nine of his 26 points in the final period.

The Jazz improved to 1-2 against Minnesota, with the chance to tie the season series in a final meeting against the Timberwolves next month.