The worst thing the Jazz could have done heading into what might be the biggest week of their season was give away a game to the lowly Timberwolves. Now the Jazz must prepare for a four-game, six-day stretch that begins Monday against the Spurs in which they also will play the Lakers twice and the Magic. "This is a pretty tough stretch for us, but it's a good test for us as well, see where we're at," Deron Williams said. "We've had some good wins but against a lot of teams that don't have winning records. Let's see how we do against the top in the league."
The Jazz played one of their most lackluster games of the season against the Wolves. Minnesota came in averaging 91.4 points a game on 43.5 percent shooting, yet it scorched the Jazz for 108 points on 57.1 percent shooting.
That included a 35-point fourth quarter in which the Wolves scored on 11 of their final 12 possessions -- seven in a row at one point. Seven Minnesota players scored in double figures, led by Ryan Gomes with 23 on 9-for-10 shooting.
As for the Spurs, the Jazz will play them for the third time in the first 20 games of the season. Utah ended a decade-long losing streak in San Antonio last month and already is guaranteed no worse than a split of the four-game season series.
TIMBERWOLVES 108, JAZZ 101: The Timberwolves had lost nine consecutive games at home and endured a 15-game losing streak in the season's first month, but they managed to sting the Jazz nevertheless. The Jazz dropped to 1-3 when playing the second game of a back-to-back set this season after going 3-18 in such games last season.
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