Wolves pull away in 3rd quarter, glide by Jazz

Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 123-95 win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night in Minneapolis.

Towns scored 15 points in the decisive third quarter, helping to turn a tied game into a blowout while boosting the Wolves to their second straight win and a 3-0 home record. Edwards finished with eight rebounds and six assists but also turned the ball over six times.

Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points on a rough shooting night (7-for-20) and grabbed eight rebounds, while John Collins and Talen Horton-Tucker each contributed 14 points.

The Jazz only shot 38.5 percent from the field en route to their fourth loss in five games. This was the first night of a four-game road trip for Utah.

Rudy Gobert totaled 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Mike Conley had seven points and six assists as both went up against their former team. Naz Reid also had a nice game for Minnesota off the bench with 16 points, and Kyle Anderson had 12 points and six assists in his reserve role.

The Timberwolves got off to a strong start, going ahead by double digits, 23-12, after a Reid 3-pointer with 4:08 left in the first quarter.

The Jazz warmed up from outside with five 3-pointers, including three from Markkanen and a buzzer-beater by Ochai Agbaji, to pull within two points by the end of the first.

Minnesota, which shot a sizzling 55.6 percent from the field for the game, used a 13-5 spurt late in the second quarter to take a 55-50 lead into the break.

After Utah knotted things up midway through the third quarter, Towns sparked a 15-2 run with a pair of threes and four free throws as Minnesota took an 81-68 lead.

Towns' explosive third quarter helped Minnesota go into the fourth with a 15-point lead at 92-77.