National Basketball Association
Preview
Minnesota at Utah
When: 9:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 30, 2025
Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

Minnesota coach Chris Finch didn't see the end of his team's game in Phoenix on Wednesday night, but he certainly had to like what transpired after he was ejected.

The Timberwolves, who trailed by two in the third period when he was tossed for arguing with officials, went on to earn a 121-113 victory and will take a four-game winning streak into their game Thursday night against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City.

Players told The Minnesota Star Tribune that Finch's fiery attitude might have carried over from an intense film session earlier in the day.

"You should've seen him this morning," said Julius Randle, who totaled 28 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals against the Suns.

After scoring 23 points and going 5-for-10 from long distance, Nickeil Alexander-Walker claimed "everybody was getting yelled at" during the film session.

"I think he went to sleep last night with violence on his mind," Minnesota's Anthony Edwards told the Star Tribune in the aftermath of scoring 33 points with seven rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals. "And you know how you go to sleep with something on your mind and you're hoping when you wake up ... I don't think his sleep was good enough."

The Timberwolves were good enough against the Suns -- at least after falling behind by 12 in the second quarter. Minnesota kept its winning streak alive by overcoming that double-digit deficit and going up by 14 in the fourth quarter of the road win.

The Timberwolves will look for their first five-game winning streak of the season -- this is the second time they've had four wins in a row -- on the second night of a back-to-back.

Utah brings a season-worst seven-game losing streak into the first of four games against Minnesota in the final 2 1/2 months of the season.

The Jazz didn't play Wednesday after traveling back from San Francisco following its own back-to-back set on Monday and Tuesday.

The struggling team did get a boost from the injury report on Wednesday. After missing seven players against the Warriors, the Jazz received the news that Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson will be available for the game vs. Minnesota.

John Collins, Johnny Juzang and Walker Kessler also were upgraded to questionable.

Even missing so many key players, the Jazz were within one point of the Golden State Warriors with under six minutes to go Tuesday night.

Collin Sexton had a big outing with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the field as the Jazz lost 114-103. He also had four assists and gained a compliment from his coach.

"Collin is one of my favorite players that I've ever been around," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "I tell Collin all the time, 'I love you and you drive me crazy.' Both can be true. His fire every day is something that I think we all should aspire to have."

Hardy said he likes that the Jazz remained competitive against Golden State, which was on the first night of a back-to-back set and won despite the absence of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga.

"These lessons are good for our group, and I'm glad that we're going through them together," Hardy said. "I continue to be optimistic about the group as a whole and the growth that we're showing, the competitiveness that we're showing, the connectivity that we're showing."

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Minnesota 26-21 W4 12-10 14-11 3-3 23-18 3-3 19-13
Utah 10-35 L7 3-16 7-19 2-1 8-34 1-6 3-27
Last Meeting
Minnesota Utah
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
3/18/24 MIN 114 UTA 104 114 35 48.4 104 47 46.4
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Minnesota A. Edwards 32 56.5 4
Utah C. Sexton 24 52.9 1
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Minnesota J. McDaniels 8 3 5
Utah W. Kessler 14 5 9
Assists Player  
Minnesota A. Edwards 8
Utah K. George 8
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Minnesota A. Edwards 1304 44.3 205
Utah C. Sexton 867 47.7 153
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Minnesota R. Gobert 506 158 348
Utah W. Kessler 445 168 277
Assists Player  
Minnesota J. Randle 218
Utah K. George 213
Quickchart Matchup
Minnesota Minnesota Off vs  Utah Utah Defense
Minnesota Off vs Utah - Points For 110.6 Points For
Minnesota Off vs Utah - Points Against 118.5 Points Against
Minnesota - FG% 46.2 FG%
Utah - FG% 47.7 FG%
Minnesota - Reb 43.8 Reb
Utah - Reb 42.7 Reb
Utah Utah Off vs  Minnesota Minnesota Defense
Utah Off vs Minnesota - Points For 111.1 Points For
Utah Off vs Minnesota - Points Against 107.8 Points Against
Utah - FG% 45.6 FG%
Minnesota - FG% 45.4 FG%
Utah - Reb 45.3 Reb
Minnesota - Reb 43.1 Reb