Friday's game in Salt Lake City began with the Utah Jazz fans giving Rudy Gobert a hero's welcome. It ended with the Wolves giving the Jazz the bum rush.
It was Gobert's first game back to where he began his career. And he responded with a 22-point, 13-rebound double-double.
But it was Gobert's teammate, guard D'Angelo Russell, who slammed the door in Minnesota's 118-108 win.
Russell scored 20 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter. He hit all seven of his shots. He made all six of his 3-pointers. He almost single-handedly held off a Jazz team playing without two starters, had erased a double-figure Wolves lead, pulled within a point three times and were within two with 3:14 left.
It was another big win for the Wolves (13-12), who won without Karl-Anthony Towns, for the second straight time.
All five Wolves starters were in double figures. Kyle Anderson had a Swiss Army knife night, with 15 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. Anthony Edwards had a difficult night shooting but scored 14 points. Jaden McDaniels had 11.
Utah was led by Michael Beasley's 23 points.
Down 15 at the half, the Jazz pulled within three entering the fourth.
And despite Russell's heroics — he scored 12 of the Wolves' first 14 points in the fourth quarter — the Grizzlies kept coming.
Down eight after Edwards hit a 3 with 4:36 left, Beasley scored, then Kelly Olynyk hit a 3. After a Wolves turnover Mike Conley hit a 3 with 3:14 left. The 8-2 run made it a two-point game.
Out of a timeout Russell hit another 3. The Wolves got a stop and Russell hit yet another 3. And the Wolves were off.
The Jazz attempted just eight 2-point shots in the first quarter, but they made 5 of 14 3-pointers. The Wolves made just 1 of 8 3-point attempts, but were 9 for 14 on 2s. These contrasting approaches produced a 28-24 Wolves lead after the first 10 minutes.
All five Wolves starters scored in the quarter, with Russell scoring seven. Russell had six. Gobert — who started the scoring with a slam off a nice Anderson pass — had five, as did Anderson.
Up by a point with 2:50 left, the Wolves finished the quarter 5-2 despite missing their final five shots.
Utah opened the second quarter 6-3 to pull within a point on Jordan Clarkson's bucket.
Pretty much the rest of the half belong to the Wolves.
First: Anderson had four points in a 12-3 run that put Minnesota up 43-33 with 6:33 left in the half.
Then: After Utah pulled within 52-46 on Conley's floater with 3:11 left the Wolves got five points from Jaylen Nowell and four from Gobert in an 11-2 run to end the half with the Wolves up 61-46.
The Jazz made 8 of 22 second-quarter shots, just 2 of 10 3-point attempts. The Wolves were 11 for 17 while scoring 33 points.
And then the third quarter happened.
As has happened so many times this season, the third quarter is where double-figure Wolves leads go to die. It was basically a quarter-long run for the Jazz; Utah outscored the Wolves 33-21 in the quarter, and ended it 14-7.
The comeback crested when Conley hit a 3-pointer with 1:58 left to tie the game at 79. Naz Reid hit a 3-pointer with 1:19 left to put Minnesota up three entering the fourth.
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The Star Tribune did not send the writer of this article to the game. This was written using a broadcast, interviews and other material.
