SALT LAKE CITY - The Timberwolves' first experiment playing without both Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert didn't go as well as they wanted it to last Sunday against the Lakers.
With Gobert out because of a left rib strain he suffered in Tuesday's win over the Clippers, the Wolves pulled away in the second half to beat the Jazz 119-100.
Unlike the Lakers game, the Wolves were facing a lottery-bound opponent who was just as fine losing the game, and was without several of its key contributors including Lauri Markkanen (quad), Jordan Clarkson (groin) and John Collins (rest).
The Wolves had the best player on the floor in Anthony Edwards, who had 31 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to spark the victory. And they also had a hot-shooting Mike Conley, who scored 25 points in his first game back in Utah since the Jazz traded him to the Wolves last season.
Conley saved one of his best performances of the season for his former club, as he followed up a season high 23-point night Tuesday against the Clippers with another one. Conley (8-for-12) hit five threes as the Wolves earned coach Chris Finch the 150th victory in his tenure (150-121). Naz Reid added 22 points.
The first quarter was about as ugly a quarter as the Wolves and their opponents combined to play all season. The score was tied 19-19 after one as neither team wanted to put the ball in the basket. The Jazz began the night 8-for-22 while the Wolves were 7-for-28. Edwards accounted for five of the Wolves' seven field goals and 12 of the 19 points.
The Wolves fell behind as much as five in the second quarter as Edwards sat and they still tried to figure out the offense. Reid got going with 11 first-half points and the Wolves used an 11-1 run to take their largest lead of the night, 43-35. But the Jazz controlled the rest of the quarter, and closed on a 13-5 run to tie the score 48-48 at the half despite Utah committing 11 turnovers. The Jazz had a 22-6 edge in bench points at the half. The Wolves were just 17-for-47 from the field in the first half (36%).
Conley began heating up in the third quarter, as he opened with three threes in the first 4 minutes, 6 seconds. Conley's binge helped the Wolves play their best stretch of basketball to that point. The Wolves strung together stops with buckets in transition on a 13-0 run that gave them a 68-57 lead. Collin Sexton brought the Jazz back within two before Edwards hit a three and followed that with another three-point play to push the Wolves' lead back to 10, 82-72 by the start of the fourth.
Utah never seriously threatened the Wolves through the fourth as the Wolves hit enough shots from deep (13-for-23) from three-point range in the second half) to keep Utah from making it a game again.
(bullet) Coach Chris Finch said there was no timetable for Gobert's return. Gobert said before the game that he was feeling better and was relieved the injury wasn't more serious, but range of motion remained an issue for him