Wolves Wrap: LaVine, Wiggins, Kilpatrick key overtime win

In a game that certainly felt like the Wolves would be blown out by a wide margin, the Utah Jazz refused to take control and let the visitors hang around, leading to a sloppy overtime affair.

The Wolves were down to just seven players tonight after having eight players play in Sunday evening’s home loss to Charlotte. NBA rules stipulate that teams must dress eight players, meaning that Kevin Martin had to suit up even though he wasn’t available due to a new hamstring issue.

Gary Neal played 21 minutes against the Hornets but didn’t make the trip to Salt Lake City, meaning that Chase Budinger and Sean Kilpatrick were the only players to play off the bench for the Wolves.

The Jazz, winners of 12 out of 16 games, had ample opportunity to pull away from the lowly Wolves throughout the game but were unable to do so.

There was a stretch in the third quarter with Lorenzo Brown running the point and Zach LaVine getting some valuable off-ball minutes that only validated concerns that the Wolves are wasting valuable developmental time by playing the rookie guard at the point throughout the season.

Kilpatrick missed his first attempt from the field before getting hot in the fourth quarter, draining four consecutive jumpers including three three-pointers. The Wolves turned the ball over in the midst of a set run for Kilpatrick the next time down, however, and then Flip Saunders pulled the undrafted rookie from the game.

After falling behind by as many as five points with just a couple of minutes to go in the game, Chase Budinger and Zach LaVine knocked down back-to-back three-pointers with under a minutes to go to give the Wolves a chance to tie after a pair of Jazz free throws with 19 seconds left.

LaVine dribbled the ball up the court and pulled up nearly four feet beyond the arc to drain a game-tying three with 12.2 seconds remaining. The Jazz took a timeout and only managed to get a one-footed, off-balance attempt in the corner by Trey Burke after fantastic team defense from Brown and Gorgui Dieng.

It was a sloppy overtime period from both teams, with the Jazz not converting a field goal until exactly one minute remained. After that bucket, Minnesota led by a 102-100 score. After a timeout, Flip Saunders decided to pull Lorenzo Brown out of the game in favor of Kilpatrick, allowing LaVine to run the point.

Predictably, the Jazz trapped LaVine near mid-court and forced a turnover, but the Wolves lucked out when Trey Burke missed yet another open three-pointer that would have given the Jazz the lead with 43 seconds remaining. Dieng was fouled by Rudy Gobert on a jumper and made one of two free throw attempts, setting up Jazz ball with 16.8 remaining and a 103-100 Wolves’ lead.

Budinger fouled Burke on a drive and the former Wolves’ draft pick made both shots. The Jazz then fouled Kirkpatrick who promptly knocked down his first ever NBA free throw attempts to give the Wolves their three-point back with ten seconds remaining. Burke made a layup and LaVine made one of two free throws.

The Jazz were out of free throws and had to go the length of the court with 4.6 seconds left, and Burke pulled up about ten feet beyond the arc and clanked a shot off the bottom of the backboard as time expired and the Wolves escaped with a 106-104 victory.

Tweet of the Night

Clip of the Night

 Notable Lines

• Andrew Wiggins: 22 points (10-19 FG, 2-3 FT, 0-1 3P), 7 rebounds, 2 steals, one assist, one block, 4 turnovers
• Lorenzo Brown: 10 points (4-5 FG, 2-3 FT), 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers
• Zach LaVine: 27 points (7-19 FG, 8-10 FT, 5-6 3PT), 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 6 turnovers

Star of the Night

Sean Kilpatrick: 13 points (4-7 FG, 3-4 3P, 2-2 FT), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, one steal, one turnover

Wiggins played 49 minutes and was consistent throughout and LaVine hit two deep, clutch three-pointers to get the Wolves to the overtime period, but Kilpatrick’s hot streak and overtime free throws are what kept the visitors in the game and helped salt away the win.

Kilpatrick drained three threes in a row to keep the game close in the fourth quarter and then hit two huge free throws in overtime in what was his first ever trip to the charity stripe in an NBA game.

Stat of the Night

There’s a few options here, but the miserable free throw shooting from the home team kept the Wolves in the contest down the stretch and in overtime.

Utah shot 19 of 31 (61.3%) from the free throw line, but it was much worse until the free throw battle in overtime that upped the Jazz percentage a bit. The Wolves were 20-25 (80%) from the stripe.

We could also consider just how bad Trey Burke’s shooting night was in this space…he shot a horrifying 4 of 22 (18%) from the field and 2 for 13 from beyond the arc.

Who’s Got Next?

The Wolves actually have a legitimate shot at winning two games in a row as they’ll host the Los Angeles Lakers at Target Center on Wednesday night.

All in all, winning in overtime with seven players, at altitude, on the second night of a back-to-back is impressive, and a testament to the guys that were able to play.