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SALT LAKE CITY — In the third quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns screamed, “Foul!” as yet another shot and drive were swallowed up by Rudy Gobert.
The frustration had boiled over and it appeared a plea to the officials is about all Towns could do against Gobert on Wednesday night. Two nights after Towns led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a win over the Jazz (9-5), it was Gobert’s turn to shine in a 103-94 win over the Wolves at Target Center.
"I think KAT got the better of him last game but he came back and responded as a competitor would," Donovan Mitchell said of Gobert. "I knew he would. I'm proud of him."
Not surprisingly, Gobert's dominance came on the defensive end. Gobert shadowed Towns wherever he went — be it the rim, driving in the paint or stepping outside — and the Minneota center struggled just about everywhere.
It was a change of gameplan from Monday's game, but one that Gobert was up for.
“It’s just what I do every night,” Gobert said during his walk-off interview. “Whatever challenge is there, I’m always ready to go get it. I’m glad we got the win tonight.”
Towns had just ten shot attempts on the night and only three came inside the 3-point line. He was efficient — hitting on 5 of 10 and hit four 3-pointers — on his shots, but he was often taken out of the game.
That’s the kind of impact Gobert can have.
“Rudy was terrific in some situations that aren’t familiar to him,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “He’s got a lot of pride and playing KAT is different. Even in a couple of the 3s, he made tonight, he was able to move back — he’s hard to guard. Rudy did a really good job and the other four guys out there did a much better job containing.”
Gobert was the dominant force in the second half — especially the third quarter where he had two blocks and helped the Jazz out to a double-digit lead. His impact on the game was obvious when he was playing, but it was even more so when he sat.
When Gobert went to the bench with over three minutes remaining in the third, the Jazz had built up a ten-point lead. When he got back, things were a little different.
Minnesota went on an 18-1 run to end the third and start the fourth quarter, with all but the last six points coming with Gobert on the bench.
The good news: Gobert, who finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, came back and the game almost instantly changed, with the Jazz answering the Wolves’ big run with a 12-0 spurt of their own to regain control of the contest.
The bad news: The Jazz bench once again struggled — something that has become a common occurrence.
But Gobert and some hot shooting down the stretch made up for it.
In many ways, it was reverse of what happened on Monday in Utah’s loss to Minnesota. The Wolves ended that contest on a 23-4 run to leave Salt Lake City with a win. The Jazz returned the favor in Minnesota.
Gobert was a big reason, yes. But the Jazz offense started clicking like many had imagined it would. Bojan Bogdanovic had 30 points, Donovan Mitchell had 26, Mike Conley chipped in 16 — and all had big moments in the fourth quarter.
Mitchell had such a good crossover that Robert Covington ended up on his backside. Conley buried a transition 3 moments after assisting Bogdanovic on his own triple. And Bogdanovic hit fadeaway triple in the corner — his sixth 3 of the night.
In a nearly eight-minute span in the fourth quarter, the Jazz outscored Minnesota 27-10.
“We are just playing team basketball, trying to execute and knock down the shot,” Green said.
