T'wolves top Jazz in matchup of teams trading with Lakers

Updated Feb. 8, 2023 11:37 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 to lead Minnesota to a 143-118 win over Utah on Wednesday night amid word the Timberwolves, Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers were part of an eight-player swap hours ahead of the NBA trade deadline.

Playing loose, the Timberwolves set a season high with 79 points in the first half and led 107-80 midway through the third quarter, helped by 64% shooting from the field and 61% from 3-point range.

Luke Garza scored a career-high 25 points and the Timberwolves made 23 3-pointers at a 54% shooting clip, tying their highest output of the season.

The three-team trade was confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday night by a person with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn’t announced the major deal made ahead of Thursday afternoon's trade deadline.

In the deal, the Timberwolves sent D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers, where he played his first two NBA seasons from 2015-17. Utah shipped Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley to Minnesota and dealt Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the Lakers. The Jazz received Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones from the Lakers, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2027.

The Jazz were shorthanded in the game without four players who have logged significant minutes this season, as the teams were just shells of their former selves.

The Timberwolves were also missing a host of regulars as Rudy Gobert (groin), Kyle Anderson (back) and Austin Rivers (suspension) were held out, and Karl-Anthony Towns is still sidelined with a right calf strain.

Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points and Collin Sexton had 20 in Utah’s worst home loss of the season. Their worse road loss of the season was a 26-point defeat.

The Jazz have assembled a formidable collection of draft capital, including key pieces from Minnesota in last summer’s Gobert deal.

Utah has 15 unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks to use through 2029, along with a talented under-25 group of Markkanen, Kessler, Sexton and Ochai Agbaji and more than $60 million under the salary cap if they buy out Westbrook, as expected.

Conley was Utah’s only true point guard – and one of the last holdovers from the Donovan Mitchell and Gobert era. Now, Sexton will have the opportunity to prove he can be an effective starting playmaker on a winning team.

Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will see if they can thrive with a veteran, pass-first point guard like Conley, who is averaging a career high 7.7 assists this season.

TIP-INS

Timberwolves: After two overtime games, Minnesota has won two games by more than 25 points and lost one by 34. … The Timberwolves had 27 fast-break points to just two for the Jazz. … Luke Garza made a career-best four 3-pointers.

Jazz: In the first quarter, Rudy Gay passed Jason Kidd for 88th on the NBA all-time points scored list with 17,530. … Udoka Azubuike matched his season-high of four points with two rim-rattling dunks.

UP NEXT

Timberwolves: At Memphis on Friday.

Jazz: At Toronto on Friday.

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Associated Press Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Dave Campbell contributed to this report.

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