RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Jazz are no longer just John
Stockton and Karl Malone. Now, it's Stockton, Malone and John
Starks.
Starks scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to help
the Jazz rally for a 98-92 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night.
| | Chauncey Billups puts a jumper up over Utah's John Starks, who shot down Minnesota with 16 points. |
When Starks was with the New York Knicks, "He wanted to take
every big shot and I think everybody needs to realize why I am so
excited about this team," Malone said. "It's not just John Stockton and Karl Malone, all these guys do a great job."
Utah used a 29-15 run in the fourth quarter to seal its fourth
straight win.
Malone hit a pair of free throws with 1:13 left to give Utah a
94-92 lead. Starks and Bryon Russell added free throws in the final
minute to help the Jazz pull away.
Malone finished with 22 points, 15 rebounds and five assists to
lead Utah.
Terrell Brandon led Minnesota with 25 points. Kevin Garnett
added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves.
Minnesota led 92-86 with 3:21 left in the game after Garnett hit
one of two free throws, but it proved to be Minnesota's last point.
Starks dropped a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to cut the
lead to 92-91. After Malone made two free throws with 73 seconds left,
Garnett missed a 10-foot turnaround jumper. Brandon came up with a
steal, but missed a jumper, leaving the Timberwolves no choice but
to foul.
Russell and Starks then added free throws to help Utah.
"We had a substantial lead but we didn't keep it for whatever
reason," Garnett said. "Bad judgment and bad shots just cost us
in the last few minutes."
Minnesota used a balanced attack to control the game early.
Brandon, Garnett, Wally Szczerbiak (16 points) and Chauncey Billups
(19 points) led the way.
"We had trouble all night long. I think they were the
aggressors most of the game," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They
had control, they just missed some shots coming down the stretch
and we happened to make some jump shots."
Szczerbiak helped Minnesota stretch its lead in the third
quarter to 63-57 with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Garnett scored eight straight points for Minnesota, which
extended its advantage to 75-67.
The Jazz outscored the Timberwolves 10-3 in the final four
minutes of the first half and trailed by two points, 51-49, at the
half.
Game notes
Minnesota has been outshot from the free-throw line in all
four of its games. Monday night, Utah attempted 29 free throws to
20 for Minnesota. ... The Timberwolves came into the game
attempting just 16.3 free throws compared to 32.3 attempts for its
opponents. ... Danny Manning blocked a Garnett shot in the
second quarter to give him his 700th career blocked shot. ...Utah
committed a season-high 21 turnovers, including six in the fourth
quarter.
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Minnesota Clubhouse
Utah Clubhouse
RECAPS
Orlando 110 Seattle 99
Dallas 108 Denver 96
Utah 98 Minnesota 92
Vancouver 97 Atlanta 87
Sacramento 79 Portland 75
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