Notebook: Timberwolves 100, Jazz 98

Posted Thursday February 23, 2012 12:26AM

By Phil Miller, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Luke Ridnour's one-handed floater at the buzzer capped Minnesota's rally from a 16-point deficit in the final nine minutes, and the Timberwolves (17-17) reached .500 at the All-Star break for the first time since 2005 with an improbable 100-98 victory over the Jazz in Minneapolis.

The Timberwolves, whose 17 victories already match last season's total, trailed Utah 83-67 with nine minutes to play. But J.J. Barea went 3-for-3 on 3-pointers in the final period, the Wolves held Utah without a basket for more than six minutes, and Minnesota outscored the Jazz 30-13 in the game's final eight minutes to win for the fourth time in five games.

Former Wolves center Al Jefferson, who scored 18 points with 11 rebounds in his lone visit to his former home this season, nailed an 18-footer with seven seconds to play to tie the game at 98-98. But it merely set up a heartbreaking finish for the Jazz, who have lost three straight games and eight of their last 10. Utah, which fell into last place in the Northwest Division at 15-17, was led by Paul Millsap's 25 points.

QUOTABLE: "Heck yeah, I hugged him. I just didn't want to play a five-minute overtime. It's been a long week."
-- Wolves forward Kevin Love, on Ridnour's game-winning floater at the buzzer.

THE STAT: 6:05 -- Fourth-quarter span without a basket for Utah, during which they went 0-for-7 from the field, including three missed layups, and were outscored 20-8

TURNING POINT: The Wolves trailed by 16 points with less than 10 minutes to play and appeared lifeless and spent. But coach Rick Adelman removed a couple of starters -- center Nikola Pekovic and point guard Ricky Rubio -- and told guard Barea to look for his shot, and the resulting energy turned the game around. Barea's 3-pointer with 7:45 to play sparked the offense, and the Wolves' interior defense tightened up noticeably, resulting in a decisive 30-13 Minnesota run over the final eight minutes.

QUOTABLE II: "To tell you the truth, I thought it was going in. It felt really good. I have to shoot floaters -- I can't get to the rim."
-- Ridnour, on his looping shot over Jefferson's reach on the game's final play.

HOT: With Raja Bell sidelined, Josh Howard was inserted into Utah's starting lineup for the second straight game, and he responded with perhaps his strongest game as a member of the Jazz. Howard sank eight of his first 11 shots in the game, including seven straight, and tied his season high with 19 points before fouling out in the game's final minute.

NOT: Minnesota's shooting was horrific in the first half; the Wolves missed 20 of their first 24 shots from the field, a 16.7 percent success rate that accounted for their early 16-point deficit. The Timberwolves' starting front line -- Wes Johnson (0-3), Love (2-9) and Pekovic (0-7) combined to make only 2-of-19 shots in the first half.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Wolves forward Love said he's tiring under the weight of all those minutes -- he leads the NBA with an average of 40.0 minutes per game -- and it showed on Wednesday. Love made only 3-of-14 field goals, took only one shot (it missed) and grabbed only one rebound in the fourth quarter, finishing with only 10 boards and a season-low 10 points.

GOOD MOVE: Hot-shooting Barea, who led Minnesota with 22 points and whose five 3-pointers tied his career high, was supposed to take the Wolves' final shot. But after taking the inbounds pass with seven seconds left in a tie game, Barea found himself double-teamed by Utah's defense 28 feet from the basket and unable to get to the hoop. Instead, Barea bounced a crosscourt pass to Ridnour, who took three steps before lofting a one-handed shot just inside the free-throw line for the game-winner.

BAD MOVE: Minnesota was unable to stop Millsap, who led all scorers with 25 points, but they didn't have to in the fourth quarter. Millsap took only three of Utah's 19 fourth-quarter shots, while the Jazz mostly settled for outside jumpers. The result was 36.8 percent shooting in the period, allowing the Timberwolves to rally.

ROOKIE WATCH: The 13 points scored by Derrick Williams, the second player selected in last June's draft, were two off his season-high, but never had the rookie made such a critical impact on an NBA game. Nine of Williams' points came in the final six minutes, he collected six rebounds in the fourth quarter including a putback that turned into a game-tying three-point play with 57 seconds left, and his free throws with 42 seconds remaining gave Minnesota its first lead since the game's first minute.

NOTABLE: Minnesota shot 38 free throws (and made 27) to Utah's 24, the 32nd straight game that a Jazz opponent has attempted more than Utah. ... The Jazz's first 20 points came on shots in the lane; only 7:23 remained in the game when Minnesota got its 20 point in the paint. Utah's 58 points in the paint were the most Minnesota has allowed all season. ... Minnesota committed twice as many turnovers as Utah, 18-9. ... Jazz guard Bell was inactive for the second straight game with a strained left adductor muscle.

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Tuesday @ Sacramento, Feb. 29 vs. Rockets, March 2 vs. Heat. For the Timberwolves, Tuesday @ L.A. Clippers, Feb. 29 @ L.A. Lakers, March 1 @ Phoenix.