Minnesota leaned on the same guards who have carried it since Edwards went down. Ayo Dosunmu and LaMelo Ball led the Wolves, and the Star Tribune's game coverage put them at the top of the night. The full box score didn't come through in our search, so whether Jonathan Kuminga had another big closing night and whether Joan Beringer played in the mask goes unanswered here. It was the same backcourt as the win in New Orleans, and this time the Wolves didn't need a big 4th quarter.
The preview's read on Utah was a team that hangs around for a half and then breaks. That isn't quite what happened. Minnesota led 28-25 after 1 and 57-51 at the half, so the Jazz never got the tie they had in Dallas. Utah was down from the start and just kept losing ground.
The 3rd quarter still decided it, just like the preview said it would. Minnesota won it 33-27 and took a 90-78 lead into the 4th, and Utah's best answer was to win nothing. The Jazz scored 22 in the final quarter, their lowest of the night, and the Wolves outscored them by 3 in that frame too. Utah lost every quarter by 3 to 6 points. A team missing its 3 best frontcourt pieces could keep it close for a stretch, but it never closed the gap.
For Utah, the injury report is now the whole story of the season. Markkanen was the one guy putting up numbers every night, even on a bad wrist, and without him the Jazz topped out at 27 in a quarter. Keyonte George was questionable with an illness coming in, and our one search didn't confirm his line either. Whether he played or not, Utah didn't have anyone who could stop a 33-point quarter or answer one.
Minnesota keeps stacking wins without its best player. The Wolves now head into a homestand having beaten the Clippers, Bucks and now the Jazz at Target Center, and the rotation of Ball, Dosunmu and whoever is healthy up front keeps holding up. Utah's losing streak goes on, and until Markkanen's wrist and the frontcourt get healthier, there isn't a clear way to stop it.
