Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 114-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Edwards started slow but made 13 of 23 shots from the floor, including one of the most dazzling highlight dunks of the season, en route to his team-record 27th 30-point game of 2023-24.
The All-Star’s big game, which included eight assists, seven rebounds and two blocks, helped the Timberwolves (47-21) beat the Jazz for the second time in three nights. Minnesota swept Utah for the first time ever in a four-game season series.
Naz Reid finished with 17 points before leaving the game early because of a head injury, and former Jazz guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit three 3-pointers en route to 13 points off the bench in the Timberwolves’ third straight victory.
Collin Sexton paced Utah (29-39) with 24 points in a reserve role, while Lauri Markkanen, back after a six-game absence due to a quad injury, finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Keyonte George totaled 15 points and eight assists for Utah. The rookie also committed six of the Jazz’s 17 turnovers that resulted in 27 points for Minnesota.
Utah, which led by as many as 16 points in the first half, took a short-lived lead early in the fourth quarter after a three-point play from Markkanen.
Minnesota responded with a 12-1 run, including five straight points by Edwards, to go up 100-91 with 5:50 remaining.
Utah cut the lead to four a couple of times after that, but Alexander-Walker and Edwards hit key buckets to help clinch the Timberwolves’ win.
Utah scored the final six points of the third quarter to tie things up heading into the fourth.
Edwards temporarily left the court after injuring his finger while violently dunking over John Collins in the third quarter, but he came back to finish off a three-point play from the free-throw line after a timeout.
Collins did not return after being evaluated for a concussion. The Athletic reported following the game that Collins had a head contusion, not a concussion.
–Field Level Media
