1. The Timberwolves sit first in the West and have outstanding defense.
The Minnesota Timberwolves currently sit in first place in the standings, one complete win ahead of second place. It has been able to hold the leading position in the West not because of its amazing offense, but because of its excellent play on the defensive end. Last season, we made the Timberwolves' twin towers a joke, but this year they have become a big problem for all opponents. Karl-Anthony Towns is in charge of defending the restricted area, Rudy Gobert is roaming around to protect the basket, and there are also excellent defensive Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson, and D'Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards on the outside.
In this game, the Timberwolves faced the Utah Jazz at home. The Jazz's goal this year is to play a bad game and reduce their wins, but the quality of the players does not allow them to let go easily, so the core of the team, Mark Markkanen, is injured again. Without Markkanen, the Jazz would be disqualified from competing with their opponents, even against the Timberwolves, the No. 1 in the West.
Second, the Jazz had the advantage in the first quarter, and Towns stepped up to overtake in the second quarter.
Markkanen and Mark Clarkson didn't play, and the Jazz, who should have been greatly weakened, had the upper hand in the first quarter. The Timberwolves were in terrible form, Anthony Edwards was also on the injury list, Towns had 7 points and 1 rebound in the first quarter, but the team only scored 20 points, while the Jazz had easily 23 points, and their Stanley Johnson Fontecchio contributed 7 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Jazz's offense was still solid, Fontecchio scored another 5 points and 1 rebound, and the whole team blossomed and scored 24 points again, which gave the Timberwolves a chance. Finally, Downs stepped up, and the comprehensive statistics of 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block directly filled his stat column. d'Angelo Russell also had 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist, helping the team to a 29-point blast in a single quarter, outscoring the Jazz by two points at halftime, 49-47.
3. In the second half, the Timberwolves won again.
In the second half, the two teams switched sides and fought again, and the Jazz's offense was still insufficient, and the team scored only 19 points in the quarter. The Timberwolves continued to exert their strength, Towns scored 9 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Russell contributed 8 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists, and Gobert also had 8 points and 6 rebounds, helping the team score 35 points in a single quarter and take the lead in points.
The 18-point lead was already very obvious, but the Timberwolves did not let up and continued to send their main players. Kyle Anderson, who didn't score a single point in the first three quarters, had four points and one assist in the final quarter, and although the team only scored 17 points, it can confirm that the Jazz are unable to catch up. In the end, the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the Jazz 101-90, once again proving the strength of the first place in the West.
Fourth, Towns led the team to victory 32+11, and the Jazz faced a rebuild.
In this game, the Timberwolves easily won the game and continued to sit in the first place in the West. Carl-Anthony Towns once again proved his strength, shooting 12-of-22 from the field, 4-of-7 from three-point range, with 32 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Russell finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists on 8-of-16 shooting. Gobert had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Only the three of them can score double-doubles. d'Angelo Russell had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists, and Kyle Anderson had 4 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists with 0 turnovers in the game.
And the Jazz's performance in this game is a sign that the team should face a rebuild. The absence of Markkanen and Clarkson is actually good news for the team. With them on the floor, the Jazz are still strong enough to compete for playoff qualification. But now this attrition is not good for the team. In this game, Stanley Johnson Fontecchio was the best player for the Jazz, he contributed 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Alfred Abaki had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists and George Niaka had 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Bench player Jordan Clarkson had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Marchio Morris had 7 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.