Utah Jazz: Stunned by the Timberwolves

SALT LAKE CITY — Minnesota has just four wins this season, two of them now against the Jazz.

For a Utah team that just finished a week in which it beat San Antonio, Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers, it makes little sense.

But that was the reality the Jazz faced after falling 110-108 to the Timberwolves on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena, where a season-high 38 points — three shy of his career high — and a game-high 13 assists from point guard Deron Williams weren't enough.

It was the second victory over Utah in 10 nights for the 4-21 Timberwolves, who in between the two had a four-game losing streak.

"These are the games we should get up for," said Williams, who allowed rookie point Jonny Flynn to drive by him for a winning bucket that broke a 108-108 tie with three seconds remaining.

"We get up for the Lakers, the Orlando's, the San Antonio's," added Williams, whose 3-point try with 2.3 seconds to go missed. "But these are the real games we should get up for.

Nothing against them, but they should be wins."

Blame a lackluster 1-for-7 shooting start, lousy free-throw shooting and a fourth quarter full of follies for the Jazz for the fact it was a loss.

"I saw some of the very same things when played them up there," said coach Jerry Sloan, whose Jazz had their seven-game home win streak snapped at the end of a stretch with 11-of-14 at EnergySolutions.

"They ran like they was going 90 miles an hour, and they pushed it up the floor. ... This team could have beaten a lot of clubs tonight.

"They drove to the basket. We had a tough time rebounding the basketball. And any time you have those things happen," added Sloan, who also bemoaned Utah's 21-for-37 shooting — 56.8 percent — from the line, "it doesn't matter what the uniform says on it. You're getting beat — especially when you miss so many free throws."

Utah trailed by as many as nine early, and again by nine early in the fourth quarter.

The 14-10 Jazz did take a one-point lead on a Williams jumper that made it 104-103 with 3:46 to go, and they were up three after a Ronnie Brewer dunk with 2:40 remaining.

But the Jazz's offense went cold from there, with blanks — Williams missed a jumper, Paul Millsap's lob for Williams went over his hands, Williams missed down low and Carlos Boozer fouled out on a charge with 26.7 seconds left — on four straight possessions.

"We had some good looks," said Williams, who made 14-of-18 free throws while the rest of the Jazz were 7-for-19. "We just didn't make them."

Utah did tie the game at 108, though, when Williams passed up a trey try and instead dished down low to Andrei Kirilenko for a dunk with 16.5 seconds on the clock.