Timberwolves Shut Down Jazz
February 26, 2008

With Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Randy Foye, and Rashad McCants scoring 20 or more points each, the Minnesota Timberwolves put on one of the best offensive show this season and defeated the Utah Jazz 110-100 at Target Center before a crowd announced at 15,009.

In defeating the Jazz, NBA Northwest Division leaders, Minnesota had their best fourth-quarter of the season, scoring 39 points while holding Utah to 28.

Particularly pleasing to Minnesota coach Randy Wittman was Foye’s performance. “If you get after it defensively, your offense will benefit,” Wittman observed after the game. Foye got his offense going by playing defense. He had three steals and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. He was the big reason why Utah guard Deron Williams struggled down the stretch, hitting just one of his five fourth-quarter shots. Foye, meanwhile, scored seven fourth-quarter points and hauled in three rebounds.

Foye recently returned to the lineup after missing nearly half of the season with an injury. “He has to be patient,” Wittman said. “It’s tough when you sit out that long to get your rhythm. This is a game of rhythm and confidence. If you have neither you don’t have a shot to be very productive. On Tuesday night, Randy had a lot of confidence. He was aggressive. And that was the main thing I want him to be.”

Prior to engaging the Timberwolves, this Utah team had won 14 of 16 games. “This was a hell of a win for us,” said Wittman. “Utah is a team that if you don’t match or surpress their physical play, you don’t have a chance. I thought our guys stepped up from the beginning.”

Jefferson had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Gomes scored 16 of his 20 points and snagged 10 of his 11 rebounds after halftime. McCants scored 22 points after coming off the bench after the start of the game.

The four players with 20 or more points tied a franchise record. It was the 10th time in franchise history it had happened, but just the second time in the last 10 years.

Kirk Snyder also game off the bench, saw 24 minutes of game action, and replaced Marko Jaric in the team’s rotation. Jaric never made it off the bench.

“We haven’t done very well against Utah in recent seasons,” noted Wittman. One reason, in his opinion, is that the Wolves have struggled to cover Jazz forwards Andrei Kirilenko and Matt Harpering. Both play a physical game and the Wolves usually felt a little out-muscled at that position. The 6-6 Snyder matched up well against the pair.

“I wanted to use Kirk tonight because of his strength and toughness to match up against those guys,” Wittman said. “He still doesn’t really know what we’re doing, which makes it hard on offense at times. But, overall, he played well.”

One Utah player who the Wolves had no answer for was Carlos Boozer who led all scorers with 34 points. Williams finished with 18 for the Jazz. Utah now stands at 36 wins, 21 losses. The Timberwolves are 12-43.