Wolves transform a test into a route rolling to victory over jazz

Salt Lake City – all week Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has put his team on duty that its “mess around the season” is over. That’s why Finch was so hot after a win over Atlanta Monday that doesn’t live up to Wolves’ standards. That’s why he tore into the team on a Wednesday movie session before a win over Phoenix.

“We don’t have that luxury,” Finch said. “We had it early in the season when we tried to find out much more things.”

There wasn’t much to complain about with Thursday’s performance. The wolves faced the worst team in the West, Utah, and were down three rotation players for most of the night – Mike Conley, Ditte Divincenzo and Julius Randle. When Finch went deep into his bench, Wolves still handled jazz easily, 138-113, to their fifth win in a row.

Anthony Edwards, who became an all-star for the third time earlier in the day, led Wolves with 36 points, 11 assists and six rebounds.

Rob Dillingham had 19 points and eight assists, Luka Garza had 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting, while defensive specialist Jylen Clark had six points and was a plus-34 in 17 minutes.

One night after beating Phoenix in an emotional game, Wolves came flat in the first quarter and fell behind 25-10. They admitted a number of open looks to the jazz on the perimeter, and Utah converted to the Melody 5-for-10 from three-point reach. Offensively, the wolves had some movement and were cold to start. This would not last. When Utah entered his bench, Edwards got started. He attacked the edge of two consecutive belongings when Jazz Center Walker Kessler went to the bench. Then, when Utah sent double teams on the way, he went out of them for five assists in the quarter. The wolves cut the jazz line to 31-27 at the end of the quarter.

Randle left the game in the second quarter after converting a set -up around Kessler. Randle immediately grabbed his right inner thighs and went directly to the dressing room. The team then announced that he was out due to the tenderness of the right groin.

This forced Finch to go even deeper into his bench, and such players as Garza and Clark played significant minutes. Clark got playing time for the second consecutive game. Garza did what he does best when he was given the opportunity to play: score. He had seven points in the first half when wolves led by as many as 10. Reid was 4-for-4 to open the night and led the wolves by 12 points at half as the wolves led 57-53.