National Basketball Association
Minnesota 143, Utah 118
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #88 Matt Kallio, #71 Rodney Mott, #77 Karl Lane
Attendance: 18206

Capping a wild few hours on and off the court, Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 as the Minnesota Timberwolves took a 143-118 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, right after the teams reportedly agreed to be part of a major three-way trade.

Both squads played short-handed due to injuries (Minnesota's Rudy Gobert, Kyle Anderson and Karl-Anthony Towns), a league suspension (the Timberwolves' Austin Rivers) or players involved in the trade between the Jazz, Timberwolves and Los Angeles Lakers sitting out.

In the reported transaction, the Lakers receive D'Angelo Russell from Minnesota and Utah's Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt; the Timberwolves acquire Jazz guards Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker along with three second-round picks; and Utah picks up Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones and a lightly protected 2027 first-round pick from Los Angeles.

The trade was reported by ESPN and The Athletic moments before tipoff, but has yet to be approved by the league. The NBA's 2023 trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.

As for the Jazz players who were suited up, Collin Sexton scored 22 points and Lauri Markkanen added 21. But a midgame defensive debacle led to a third straight loss.

The game was competitive for the first quarter, which ended with Minnesota ahead 33-31.

It got out of hand over the next two quarters for Utah, which has now traded away all five starters from the 2021-22 season in a Danny Ainge-engineered retooling effort.

Minnesota scored 77 points in the first half en route to a 10-point halftime lead, and tallied 117 points through the first three quarters after scoring 44 in the second quarter and 40 in the third.

Edwards, who contributed eight assists and seven rebounds, scored 17 in the third quarter -- during which time Minnesota took a 30-point lead.

The offensive explosion helped the T-Wolves bounce back from a 146-112 blowout loss in Denver on Tuesday night.

Luka Garza added 25 points and Josh Minott had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead a Minnesota bench that scored 48 points.

The Timberwolves shot 57.1 percent from the field and a blistering 53.5 percent from 3-point range. Seven Minnesota players made at least two 3-pointers. Nowell hit six of the team's 23 makes from beyond the arc.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Utah
Anthony Edwards 31 Scoring Collin Sexton 22
Anthony Edwards 8 Assists Jordan Clarkson 6
Josh Minott 11 Rebounds Walker Kessler 9
Luka Garza 3 Free Throws Made Collin Sexton 6
Jaylen Nowell 2 Steals Jordan Clarkson 1
Josh Minott 2 Blocks Walker Kessler 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 143 57.1 23-43 8-8 35 47 6 6 11
Utah 118 41.9 12-34 18-21 27 50 5 2 8
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Jazz have a W/L % of .481 after a win and .483 after a loss.
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .517 after a win and .517 after a loss.