Minnesota led by 11 points at halftime, but Utah took advantages of absences, including Rudy Gobert’s, to come back.

The Utah Jazz could have a significant absence on the opposite end of their Minnesota Timberwolves battle on Friday night. During the Timberwolves' Thursday matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers, Anthony Edwards picked up his 16th technical foul of the season,

NEW YORK – Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards has been suspended one game without pay for receiving his 16th technical foul of the 2024-25 season, it was announced today by Joe Dumars, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations.

The Wolves will play in Phoenix on Sunday before embarking on another back-to-back in Minnesota against Philadelphia on Tuesday and then at Charlotte on Wednesday. Jazz update: The Jazz will face the Wolves three more times between Friday and the end of the season.

The Timberwolves shot 21-of-38 (55.3 percent) from three in the Jan. 30 meeting, which was a 138-113 victory for Minnesota. Utah’s defensive gameplan is focused on limiting shot attempts at the rim, which has opened up vulnerabilities on the perimeter.

Minnesota clearly loved the prospect of pairing up Gobert with their promising young core of budding superstar Anthony Edwards and the since-departed Karl-Anthony Towns. So much so, that they dealt away five first-round picks and a handful of honest-to-goodness rotation players for the defensive anchor.