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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- John Stockton, still playing high-octane
basketball in his late 30s, sent a simple message to his Utah Jazz
teammates Saturday night: It's never too late to make some magic on
the court.
|  | | Utah guard Jacque Vaughn struggled Saturday with two points and four assists, but the Jazz prevailed. |
Stockton had eight points in the final quarter to key a late
rally as the Jazz overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat the
Minnesota Timberwolves 98-92.
Stockton had 21 points and Karl Malone added 19 for the Jazz,
who took only their second lead of the game late in the fourth and
then held off Minnesota for the win.
"I don't know when his clock is going to run out, but it's
tremendous how he keeps playing the game of basketball night in and
night out," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said of the 38-year-old
Stockton. "I thought our guys, for as poor a start as we had,
sucked it up and tried to give us every opportunity to win."
Stockton fed Malone for an alley-oop slam dunk with 3:37 to play
to give Utah its first lead since the game's opening two minutes.
Wally Szczerbiak missed a 3-pointer for Minnesota with 39 seconds
remaining, and the Jazz hit seven free throws the rest of the way
to win their third consecutive road game.
"I'm going to be seeing that shot for the next few days," said
Szczerbiak. "It looked good. I stroked it good. It felt like it
was going down. Then it popped in and out. Ballgame."
Minnesota got 20 points from Kevin Garnett and 19 from Terrell
Brandon but committed nine turnovers in the fourth quarter to run
their longest losing streak of the season to four games. It was the
sixth time this season that Minnesota has let a double-digit lead
slip away.
"We put ourselves in a position to win, but we're still
struggling at the start of fourth quarters," said Minnesota coach
Flip Saunders. "At the beginning of the fourth its important that
you score to keep the flow going and keep the momentum, and we're
not doing it."
The Jazz, who entered the game averaging 78 percent at the
free-throw line, were 30-of-33 for the game and hit 20 of 22 in the
fourth.
"We're just executing better than others right now," said
Utah's Bryon Russell, whose team concluded its season-long six-game
road trip with a 4-2 record. "We're making shots and making our
foul shots."
Minnesota's shooters started strong and spread the offense
around in the early going, scoring 30 points in an effective
opening quarter that featured a pair of 8-0 runs.
Utah's problems multiplied when Malone and Sloan were called for
back-to-back technicals late in the first.
Minnesota led by as many as 16 early in the second quarter
before Utah's defense kicked in. With Malone, Stockton and Danny
Manning hitting jumpers, he Jazz pulled within one at 41-40 in the
final two minutes of the half.
"They're strong and they keep coming at you," Saunders said of
the Jazz. "They've won how many games when they've been down by
double digits in the fourth. That's what Malone and Stockton do."
Utah stayed close early in the second half before Garnett and
Brandon started hitting shots. Garnett had eight consecutive points
for Minnesota and Brandon hit the first 3-pointer of the game with
1:45 to play in the third as the Wolves closed the quarter on a 7-2
run to boost their lead to 12.
Saunders got a technical of his own in the fourth quarter after
protesting the second illegal defense call of the game to go
against his team.
Game notes
Including preseason and playoffs, Saturday's game was the
1,000th in Timberwolves history ... Former University of Minnesota
player Quincy Lewis was the only member of the Jazz who didn't see
action. ... When the Timberwolves went 3-1 versus Utah in the
1999-2000 season, it was the first time Minnesota has won a season
series from the Jazz.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Utah Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
RECAPS
Atlanta 91
Indiana 87
Charlotte 88
San Antonio 84
Detroit 106
Chicago 93
Miami 86
New Jersey 80
Orlando 111
Cleveland 92
Utah 98
Minnesota 92
Golden State 95
Houston 87
Milwaukee 104
Boston 99
Phoenix 102
Denver 93
Portland 87
Washington 70
LA Clippers 92
Vancouver 90
Sacramento 97
Seattle 92
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Karl Malone Official Site
Bryon Russell Official Site
Kevin Garnett Official Site
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