Timberwolves roll past Jazz in blowout despite Sensabaugh's 41 points

MINNEAPOLIS — No Anthony Edwards, no problem for Minnesota.

The Timberwolves blew out the Jazz 147-111 with plenty of familiar faces present as Minnesota picked up another win to keep pace in a tight playoff race in the Western Conference.

Both teams were without a couple of their leading scorers, with the Timberwolves missing superstar Edwards for the second consecutive game after the team announced he would be reevaluated in a week after experiencing right knee soreness.

Without Edwards, Minnesota didn't seem to miss a beat.

A strong opening quarter from Julius Randle was accompanied by double-digit scoring quarters from Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland.

Randle dominated early with his size, picking up a couple of and-ones to help him to 13 first-quarter points, while Dosunmu and Hyland each added 10 points to begin Wednesday's game.

The Timberwolves took control of the game after a 10-0 scoring run in the first quarter, and then held on to that lead throughout, despite Utah having stretches of competitive basketball while missing a plethora of players and integrating new faces on two-way deals.

Five Timberwolves players finished in double figures and completely blew the game open in the fourth quarter by taking as much as a 38-point lead.

"There's some games where you lose and there's some games that are disappointing," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. "That one was disappointing. We looked flat and lethargic. We looked like a team who's at the very end of a long trip, and we just couldn't find our energy tonight as a group."

Keyonte George missed his third straight game while recovering from a Grade 2 hamstring strain, but rookie Ace Bailey was back in the lineup after a one-game absence in Sacramento.

In George's absence, Brice Sensabaugh stepped up, once again.

Sensabaugh has shown the ability this season to catch fire at any given moment, and he had one of those types of games as he poured in a game-high 41 points. Sensabaugh scored 23 of his points in the first half and continued to fire away shots after the break.

"Brice has grown so much since we drafted him," Hardy said. "He is somebody that I and we are very proud of because of the work that he's put in. He's gone through a variety of roles with our team and he's just stayed the course and worked really hard. He deserves to play this well. He's a big part of our locker room."

It was an efficient game for Sensabaugh, too, who knocked down 17 of his 31 shot attempts and only added three free throws on four attempts to give him his second career 40-point game.

"Brice expects every shot to go in, and that's just not how it works," Hardy said. "I think he's done a good job of maintaining really calm body language through missed shots. I really enjoy coaching Brice every day. He carries himself with a lot of class."

Even with some strong performances from Sensabaugh, turnovers and a lack of production elsewhere was too much for the Jazz to overcome, including 24 turnovers that led to 33 points for Minnesota.

"We were just sloppy all the way around, pretty much start to finish," Hardy said. "Fifteen live ball turnovers is hard to overcome. We put ourselves in some bad spots in transition because of it; and credit to Minnesota, they took advantage of it."

Randle set the tone for Minnesota, posting 21 points and eight assists in just 27 minutes, setting the table for his teammates to contribute. Dosunmu built off his strong start to finish with 23 points, while adding eight rebounds and six assists.

Rudy Gobert recorded a double-double against his former team, racking up 20 points and 12 assists as he took advantage of a smaller Utah lineup. But Gobert wasn't the only former Jazzman to play against his former team.

Kyle Anderson scored 8 points against the team he spent the first half of the season with; while fan favorites Joe Ingles and Mike Conley entered the game for the Timberwolves with the game out of reach.

Ingles gave the home crowd plenty to cheer for as the respected NBA veteran connected on three shots, including a 3-point attempt, to give himself 7 points.

"This is one we'll have to just kind of flush and move on to tomorrow night's game," Hardy said. "We've got to just really focus right now on trying to find our energy."

The Jazz return home to face the Bucks Thursday night.

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