Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles return to the Delta Center in Timberwolves’ victory over jazz – Deset News

After several players, including Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson and Walker Kessler, were looking for Jazz’s 114-103 loss to Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, Jazz had almost their full complement for players available for Thursday’s competition against Minnesota Timberwolves.

In the first eight minutes of the game, it seemed that the regular starter players and Jordan Clarkson back together should result in a rare victory as jazz drove out to a 25-10 lead, but as the game progressed. Between the lower feeding of Utah and a Minnesota team that has won five equals and could be a Western Conference competitor, when everything is said and done, was very clear.

A terrible third quarter in which Timberwolves outscored Jazz 44-22, turned out to be the difference in Utah’s eighth consecutive loss that held its place as the second worth in the NBA.

“The third quarter is obvious where the game came away from us. This stretch of the game cost us with certainty, ”said Jazz coach, as Hardy said. “Lack of attention to details of some defensive rotations that led us to be too late. And at the break they had made eight 3s, and they made seven in the third quarter alone, and we put ourselves in the hole. “

Anthony Edwards showed why he is one of the league’s brightest young stars who claimed his presence and scored 16 of his playing highs 36 points at the beginning of the second half. Edwards dissected Utah’s defense isolated, which helped him get started in the third quarter.

“Anthony Edwards, frankly, he played a bunch of ISO. So in these insulation situations it is easy for me to say that we need to push him more. I think there were a few belongings where I didn’t like our pickup point, ”Hardy said.

“There are also some moments when his athletics and the power he puts on his first step with the drive when he plays a step back, it’s a tough shot to respond to. It’s hard for me to say to take everything from a guy like him. So he’s a hell of a player and he had a good night. “

Upon offense, Utah’s ball movement stagnated in the central third quarter, as jazz had only two assists on seven made field goals.

Minnesota finished the game by shooting 61.3% off the field and 55.3% from 3-point range in the 138-113 victory compared to Utah’s 50.6% from the field and 41.2% from 3.

Offensively for the jazz was Keyonte George a bright spot from the bench as he had one of his most productive nights of the season, scoring 23 points on seven-of-Seven shooting and Uding out three assists.

“I mean I was just me,” George said when asked what worked for him. “Ball went in tonight, just being aggressive. Shots fell. “

“As I said, preparation is always the same. So I knew what type of shot to get into this game and they fell right tonight. So keep trusting my work. I put a lot of work before exercise, after practice, late night, so I just want to keep trusting my work and everything is going to get around. “

Former Jazzman Rudy Gobert plays in second games at Delta Center as an opponent

Just the second time since he was traded from jazz in the summer of 2022, Center Rudy Grobert looked up and played against his former team in the Delta Center.

Gobert played in the first two teams of the Delta Center in December 2022-a 118-108 Minnesota victory-but has missed the last three games between Jazz and Timberwolves in Salt Lake City.

On Thursday he scored 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists and four blocked shots in his return to Utah.

“I think it’s always a good feeling for me, just just landing on the plane and watching the people and seeing the love and just the energy too,” said GOBERT First Name. “I mean, it always feels like home. And again, it’s always short (to be in Salt Lake City) during the season, but it’s always good. “

Utah Jazz Center Walker Kessler (24), Minnesota Timberwolves Center Rudy Gobert (27) and Utah Jazz Guard Collin Sexton (2) encrypted after a loose ball in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday 30 January 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

In his nine-season career with Utah, the 7-Foot-1 Frenchman went from a thin project center to one of the most dominant defensive forces in the league, and his personal course followed the team to the team under the head coach Quin Snyder. During the Gobert’s rookie season, Jazz had one of their worst seasons in the franchise story that chopped a 25-57 record but improved every year, which made the playoffs starting in 2017, which was the start of a six-season race in the postal season .

Jazz won 50 or more regular seasonal matches three times during this time, including earning Western Conference’s No. 1 Seed in 2021, but could never move on past the second round of the playoffs.

Utah traded Gobert to Minnesota for a massive feature that included Walker Kessler and four choices of the first round. GOBERT has made the playoffs both seasons that he has been in Minnesota, and Timberwolves are fresh from a Western Conference Finals performance last season, the franchise’s first since 2004.

This year’s four-time defensive player still spends time in Salt Lake City during the peak season and was cheered by home fans when he was introduced on Thursday night.

“I can really feel like they embraced me and they embraced us as a team, and it felt really real,” Gberte said. “So I mean, I gave everything I came to this franchise, so when I come back in this community too, and when I come back, it’s always cool to see some familiar faces and hear some positive words and love.”

Jazz -Publikum urges Chris Finch to put Joe Ingles in

Mike Conley and Joe Ingles are the other two former jazzmen on Timberwolves’ program list – Conley was out with a thumb stew, while Ingles has rarely played this season, which appeared in only nine games with an average of 3.9 minutes per year. Match.

With four minutes left and Minnesota jumped out of the homemaker, the Delta Center -the quantity began to sing “Joe! Joe! Joe, ”until Minnesota head coach Chris Finch inserted Ingles to a standing ovation.

During the last three minutes of the game, the crowd cheered each time Ingles touched the ball and encouraged him to shoot, but the former Jazzman did not try a field goal. He ended the night with an assist and a rebound.

Ingles was a fan favorite over its eight seasons for jazz and set the early franchise record for 3-Pointers made with 1,071.

“He’s a legend. All the (former) guys they come back feel a lot of love, especially from the home crowd we got here. We got the best fans, so I didn’t expect anything less, ”said Jordan Clarkson. “Joe is a playful, man, always and forever. He is engraved in Utah Culture and Utah Basketball with certainty. “

Clarkson-the last remaining player who is still on jazz from the quin cheater-era team, is still very close to all the players on these teams. He and Ingles, Gobert and Conley shared embraces after the last sum and still have a tape to today.

“I think that team just went through a lot through Covid, bubble shooting, just the NBA seasons, just grinding, was the No. 1 team in the league,” Clarkson said.

“We were a close composed family and we were close. So yes, I think these moments don’t die for us. We still look back and always get a laugh and how crazy was, but at the same time we see the growth in us all. … We’ve just been there with each other, even if a lot of ups and downs, so I think that’s what made the tape, it’s unmatched. “

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Joe Ingles laughs during a timeout in the game against Utah Jazz in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Ingles played with jazz from 2014-2022. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News