Timberwolves Lose To Jazz 112-103 Despite Strong Effort From Starters

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Hill had 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to their third straight win, 112-103 over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.

Gordon Hayward scored 24 points and Utah's top-ranked defense put the clamps on young Timberwolves stars Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns to improve to 10-8 this season.

Towns had 19 points and 12 rebounds but shot 8 of 18 and struggled with foul trouble much of the night. Wiggins scored 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting. All five Wolves starters were in double figures, including Zach LaVine with 28 points.

Hayward is still playing with a broken finger on his left hand that caused him to miss the first six games of the season. He has scored at least 20 points in four straight games to help balance Utah's stingy defense.

Shabazz Muhammad scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, tying the game at 78 with a soaring dunk. Tyus Jones hit a 3-pointer to give Minnesota an 83-82 lead, but Utah responded with an 11-0 run and closed it out.

TIP-INS

Jazz: Gobert had eight offensive rebounds and three blocks. ... Derrick Favors missed his sixth straight game with a bruised left knee. ... Utah outscored Minnesota 60-44 in the paint.

Timberwolves: Coach Tom Thibodeau started the fourth quarter with Jones at point guard over Kris Dunn, the fifth overall draft pick who has struggled of late. Jones has played the entire fourth quarter of three straight games. ... LaVine also had eight rebounds and eight assists.

LYLES SHINES

The less-celebrated Kentucky product — Towns was the first overall pick last year — had quite a night. Trey Lyles scored 13 points and shot 6 of 8, including a 3-pointer and a pretty floater from just inside the free throw line to give the Jazz a boost off the bench.

MUHAMMAD BREAKS OUT

Muhammad has been mired in a miserable start to the season, with a knee injury slowing him initially and a struggle to adapt to Thibodeau's system flustering him even more. An offensive spark plug at his best, Muhammad was shooting a career-worst 43.9 percent and playing just under 16 minutes per game.

He finally got going in the fourth quarter Monday night, shooting 3 of 4 and enlivening another sparse Target Center crowd with his energy.

RUBIO'S SHOT

Wolves point guard Ricky Rubio entered shooting just 33.3 percent from the field. He's never been a good shooter, but an injury to his right elbow earlier in the season didn't help things. He hit four of his first five shots Monday night.

Rubio was playing so well that Thibodeau stuck with Rubio even after he picked up his fourth foul early in the third quarter. He finished with 11 points and did not play in the fourth for the third straight game.

UP NEXT

Jazz: Utah begins a three-game homestand Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets.

Timberwolves: Minnesota stays home to host the Knicks on Wednesday before heading to New York to face them in Madison Square Garden on Friday.

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