Timberwolves 112, Jazz 97: Kevin Love collected 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists as visiting Minnesota earned a second straight convincing victory over Utah.
The Timberwolves posted a 98-72 triumph on Saturday in the opener of the home-and-home set and had little trouble repeating in the road battle, taking a 34-16 lead after the first quarter and cruising the rest of the way. Corey Brewer scored 19 points, Kevin Martin added 18 and Nikola Pekovic picked up 18 points and nine boards for Minnesota.
Gordon Hayward returned from five-game absence and scored 27 points for the Jazz, who did not have another starter reach double figures. Alec Burks, who was the only player on the roster to post double digits with 18 points in Saturday's contest, scored 18 off the bench in the rematch.
Utah took a 4-2 lead on Marvin Williams' dunk just over a minute into the game before Martin knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to put the Timberwolves in front for good. Pekovic's basket made it 19-6 with just over five minutes left in the first quarter and it was a double-figure lead the rest of the half.
Hayward's 3-pointer with 8:19 left in the third pulled the Jazz within 58-50 but Ricky Rubio responded with a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run as Minnesota pushed it back out. The lead swelled to as much as 26 points late in the third quarter and Utah never got closer than 14 the rest of the way.
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GAME NOTEBOOK: Timberwolves G J.J. Barea scored 15 points off the bench and Rubio recorded 11 points, 13 assists, five rebounds and five steals. ... The Jazz managed 39 first-half points after being held to 23 before the break on Saturday. ... Hayward has scored at least 22 points in each of the four games he has played this month.
