Wolves record: 3-17

It must be at a season high right about now, because Minnesota, now 3-17 after a 2-2 week, ran the 11-8 Jazz out of their gym in the second half. The Wolves, sporting the dark blue uniforms they wore during their inaugural season two decades ago, made an astonishing 61.5 percent of their shots after halftime (and a season-best, by far, 57.1 percent for the game), mostly on the strength of a 17-0 advantage in fast-break points.
Love’s first home game this season was also a welcome sight. After recovering the past two months from a broken bone in his left hand, Love came off the bench and lifted the Wolves with 16 points, 10 rebounds, two steals and one assist in 26 minutes. He also had a blocked shot in the fourth quarter.

Love received a huge ovation when he made his first appearance with 6:42 left in the first quarter. His offensive rebound in the fourth quarter turned out to be the game’s key play.

With the score tied at 73 at the end of the third, Ryan Gomes scored seven of his 23 points in a key stretch to open the fourth quarter as Minnesota built an eight point lead with eight minutes to play in the game.

From that point, Al Jefferson, who was 3-for-13 at the time, took over and scored nine of his 15 points in the final minutes of the game and kept Utah from getting closer than four points.

From Jonah Ballow/Timberwolves site:
Minnesota fans should be elated to witness the improvement from rookie Wayne Ellington. Through the first month of the season, Ellington rushed into poor decisions with too many turnovers. Over the past week, the former North Carolina standout has displayed intensity while making smart reads in game action. Saturday night was a prime example of the growth, Ellington posted 10 points and four boards including crunch time minutes in the fourth quarter.

Kurt Rambis said before the game that he would likely begin to reduce the number of players who get regular minutes, and he certainly lived up to that Saturday. Nathan Jawai and Oleksiy Pecherov never got off the bench, and Ryan Hollins and Ramon Sessions each played fewer than 14 minutes, far below their 20-plus averages. Sessions’ playing time was largely due to Jonny Flynn’s strong play, but it will be interesting to monitor how much the trio of centers play now that Kevin Love is back.