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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Bobby Jackson and the Minnesota Timberwolves used the most well-worn page in the Utah playbook to beat the Jazz.
|  | | Kevin Garnett plows into Bryon Russell, committing an offensive foul. |
Kevin Garnett scored 31 points and Jackson added 18, splitting the lane for two uncontested layups in the last 1:01 as the
Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Utah Jazz 91-88 Wednesday night.
Garnett went to the wing to clear the middle and Jackson beat John Stockton off well-timed picks to dart toward the basket.
"I don't know how I got the lane both times," Jackson said.
"It was such a close game, I was as surprised as anyone that
nobody was there to take a charge. I was just supposed to come off
a screen and it was all there."
The play should have looked familiar to fans at the Delta
Center. Stockton and Karl Malone have made the pick-and-roll a staple of the Utah offense for more than a decade.
"They got the shots they wanted and the pick-and-roll killed
us," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "It's something we've seen.
It's the same play we run and we had a very difficult time
defending it."
Jackson, starting in place of injured Terrell Brandon, added eight assists. Malik Sealy scored 19 points and made 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in the last 22.7 to help Minnesota snap Utah's
nine-game homecourt winning streak.
"All of a sudden, you're a starter and you've got to play some
extended minutes, the way he responded against Stockton, I think
Bobby played great," Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders said.
Garnett, who scored a career-high 37 in a 101-100 victory at
Indiana on Monday, had 13 points in the third quarter. He shot
6-of-8 during the period, most coming on mid-range jumpers over the
outstretched arms of Malone.
"He was on fire, making that 15-footer and it was killing us,"
Jazz center Greg Ostertag said. "He's made himself into one of the great players of this game, and he's got a lot of years left."
Minnesota has won 13 of its last 16, losing only to division
leaders Miami (twice) and the Los Angeles Lakers. This time, the
Timberwolves beat Midwest Division-leading Utah.
"Right now, we as a team are playing just that, as a team,"
said Garnett, who has shot 59.1 percent (110-of-186) in his last 10
games. "We're coming out with confidence and believing in that."
Stockton led the Jazz with a season-high 23 points on 9-of-12
shooting with 12 assists. He also hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds
remaining, pulling Utah within the final margin but the Jazz didn't
foul on the inbound play.
Malone scored 21 points and Bryon Russell added 12 for the Jazz.
After Minnesota lost a 12-point first-quarter lead, it turned
into a game of swings with the teams combining for 12 lead changes
and seven ties.
But it was Garnett, who led Minnesota with 10 rebounds, stealing
the show to demonstrate why he received more votes in All-Star
balloting than any other Western Conference forward.
Malone, a distant fifth behind Garnett in the voting, scored
seven in the third as the two dueled at both ends. The Timberwolves
began to take over when Garnett hit an 18-footer with 5:01
remaining for a 79-76 lead.
Although the margin was narrow, Minnesota appeared to have
control until the Jazz tied it with a free throw by Stockton and
Armen Gilliam's fastbreak dunk with 2:48 to play.
The Timberwolves, scoreless for almost three minutes, answered
with a 6-0 burst and went ahead 85-81 with 1:01 to play when
Jackson blew past Stockton for an easy layup.
The Jazz came up empty during that stretch because Malone, posting up against Garnett, was called for traveling and missed inside on another possession.
Stockton hit a 3-pointer with 47.6 to play, pulling the Jazz
within 85-84, but Jackson beat him again for another driving layup
after Garnett went onto the wing to clear out the lane.
Game notes
The Timberwolves ended a six-game losing streak at the Delta Center. ... Brandon was in street clothes for the second straight game after straining his right calf Saturday against the Lakers. ... Utah's Jeff Hornacek, nursing a swollen left knee and strained lower back, also sat out. Howard Eisley started instead. ... The Jazz are 11-2 this season when Stockton has at least 10 assists.
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Boston 94
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Atlanta 89
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