SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz's 100-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves from KSL.com's Jazz beat writer, Andy Larsen.

1. Jazz comeback falls short

With under five minutes left, the Jazz trailed 92-82 and things looked to be rolling quickly towards an easy Minnesota win. As the Wolves tend to do, they fell apart down the stretch.

They were pushed off that cliff by some excellent play from the returning Ricky Rubio and Derrick Favors. Favors really kept the Jazz alive offensively during the fourth with some mid-range jump shots, and deserves a lot of credit for the fact that the end of the game was interesting.

Rubio, though, forced the Jazz back into the game through sheer guile. After a Favors dunk, he found Joe Ingles in the corner for an open three. After that, it was six straight points from Rubio at the free throw line that eventually got the Jazz a 96-95 lead.

And then, realistically, they were in control. Jeff Teague air-balled a layup at the end of the shot clock with 30 seconds left to go, and Rudy Gobert had the rebound. And then, on the outlet pass, he just threw it away:

Gobert's crucial turnover: pic.twitter.com/f6ahJAWvLv — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 21, 2017

In the ensuing out-of-bounds, Jamal Crawford made a tough corner three that gave the Timberwolves a lead they would never relinquish.

That's not to say that there weren't still chances for the Jazz. Gobert had two close-range looks down two (and was probably fouled on one), and Favors missed a pretty open baseline jumper.

And after Butler made two FTs to seemingly put the game out of reach, there was still yet another twist: an inbound foul that turned a two-possession game to a one-possession game with five seconds left. But Joe Ingles, instead of shooting the three, drove and had the ball stripped to almost conclude the contest. Only a fadeaway turnaround miss by Joe Johnson in the corner was left, and the Timberwolves had won the game.

What's to be learned? I was encouraged by how the Jazz locked down defensively down the stretch. Having Ingles and Thabo Sefolosha guard two wings as talented as Andrew Wiggins and Jimmy Butler is a nice option to have. Beyond that, Rubio found a way to nearly singlehandedly bring the game back to the Jazz on the offensive end by drawing fouls and finding only teammates.

But I was surprised at the lack of the poise by the Jazz at a couple of points, especially from Gobert, who had the critical turnover. Ingles, too, deserves some criticism for driving with the ball with five seconds left rather than trying to find something at the perimeter with a 3-point deficit.

2. Rodney Hood's injury

There was an incredibly scary moment in the fourth quarter when Rodney Hood injured himself and had to be literally carried off the floor.

Everyone's fear was that Hood had torn his Achilles, which would have ended his season and hurt his career. The list of players that have had Achilles tears and then come back to be just as good as they were before is ... short.

The good news: Hood escaped with only a left calf strain. Jazz doctors have ruled out an Achilles tear and will evaluate the Jazz guard with an MRI on Saturday. Obviously, Hood's likely to be out for the short term, but a calf strain should allow him to return this year.

But with Dante Exum out too, I'll be curious who Quin Snyder starts in Hood's place. When Hood ran out of the huddle right before tip-off on Wednesday, Snyder started Donovan Mitchell, but that was a last-second decision. I wouldn't be surprised to see Snyder give the gig to Sefolosha, to allow him to have the biggest impact defending one of Oklahoma City's stars.

3. If you're open, shoot it!

Sometimes, basketball is an easy sport. Early in the third quarter, the Jazz were playing some really good ball. They were running plays leading to penetration, leading to kickouts to the Jazz's best shooters: Ingles and Hood.

And then, screeeech! Ingles and Hood turned down the shots, slowed it down, and dumped it into Favors for emergency late-shot-clock try-to-score proceedings.

Hood turning down a 3. pic.twitter.com/oyZReOyMgR — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 21, 2017

You could see Snyder seething on the bench. And frequent watchers of the Jazz might even remember this, when Snyder yelled at Hood to take the open shots that the offense afforded him.

And do you know what happened once Hood shot the ball? The Jazz went on a 9-0 run, comprised solely of three Hood 3-point shots. Ingles followed, making 4-of-5 during the game to give the Jazz a shot.

Rodney Hood makes a three! pic.twitter.com/9FuPIWJ3qu — Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) October 21, 2017

In order for the Jazz to avoid stalling their offense, they need their best shooters to shoot open shots. 

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