Karl-Anthony Towns posted a triple-double and the Minnesota Timberwolves continued to look like a top-six team in the Western Conference as they defeated the Utah Jazz 126-106 on Sunday night.
The game began with the Timberwolves struggling from the floor. After missing their first six shots, Minnesota didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 7:47 mark of the first quarter.
But Malik Beasley’s 3-pointer opened the floodgates. The Timberwolves proceeded to build an eight-point lead in the second quarter before the Jazz went on a run of their own.
The Jazz lost Joe Ingles to an injury midway through the second quarter but were able to counter by taking a seven-point lead late in the first half. Minnesota was quick to respond with a 7-0 run before halftime and used that momentum to break the game open in the third quarter.
The catalyst for the run was Towns, who scored 18 of his 31 points in the third. With Rudy Gobert sidelined with a calf injury, Towns dominated in the paint, pulling down 11 rebounds and notching 10 assists for his third career triple-double.
KAT's cookin' 👨‍🍳 pic.twitter.com/LkUpK2uHNn
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 31, 2022
The Timberwolves were also ignited by the play of Jaden McDaniels. The sophomore had a career-high 22 points off the bench and helped Minnesota build a 17-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
BIG MAC ATTACK pic.twitter.com/m4bBAMW5lT
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 31, 2022
With the Timberwolves cruising to victory, it was another step towards getting themselves out of the play-in tournament.
Minnesota entered the night 4.5 games behind the Dallas Mavericks for the sixth spot in the Western Conference and with several teams looking to get healthy before the playoffs, having their playoff spot locked up would be a huge benefit come April.
The Timberwolves (25-25) will look to take another step toward that goal on Tuesday night when they host the Denver Nuggets.
