Jusuf Nurkić records triple-double, Keyonte George scores career-high 43 points in Jazz win over Timberwolves

Tuesday night’s game between the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves had a bit of everything, and it was marked with milestones for the Utah Jazz.

Not only did the Jazz’s 127-122 win over the Timberwolves end a four-game losing streak, but Jusuf Nurkić recorded a triple-double, Keyonte George scored a career-high 43 points, and Will Hardy recorded his 100th win as the Jazz’s head coach.

“Man, I’m proud of our team,” Hardy said. “The resilience to play that hard and compete like that for all 48 minutes after being on the road 17 of the last 20 days, and coming back on a back-to-back against a good team that’s waiting on us here, it speaks to the character of the guys.”

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The first half was encouraging for Utah, as the Lauri Markkanen-less Jazz (he was out because of illness) played up to the level of the Timberwolves.

George, in particular, was a bright spot. He scored 25 points in the first 24 minutes, including multiple finishes over four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and former Jazzman Rudy Gobert.

“He hit at least three pull-ups where he shot the ball twice as high as he normally does because of who was in front of him,” Hardy said. “...Those are the ones that stand out to me, but the high arcing jumpers were particularly impressive.”

The Jazz held a slim 59-58 halftime lead, but the third quarter belonged to the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards led the Minnesota offense with 12 points in the quarter as the Timberwolves played fast and got open looks at the rim and at the 3-point line.

Utah was also playing its sloppiest in the third quarter. It was outscored 38-25, and gave up 10 of its 17 total turnovers in the frame.

“The turnovers in the third quarter was really how we lost the lead, in my opinion,” Hardy said. “Yeah, they’ve got really good players, and they made some plays, and I’m sure I’ll watch the film and be upset about a few possessions here and there, but 10 turnovers in one quarter is really hard to overcome.”

Luckily for the Jazz, the start of the fourth quarter was some of the best they have played all year.

Utah trailed 96-84 to start the quarter but took advantage of Edwards being on the bench.

The lineup of Isaiah Collier, Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Ace Bailey and Nurkic opened the fourth quarter with a 21-9 run and took the lead back from Minnesota.

Collier, Bailey and Nurkic especially played well. An assist from Nurkic to Collier gave the big man his 10th of the night and the first Jazz triple-double since Jordan Clarkson did so on New Year’s Day of 2024.

Nurkic’s final statline was 16 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists.

He also took an elbow to the eyebrow in the fourth quarter, which drew blood, but he quickly returned to the court.

“Obviously Nurk, the triple-double 16, 18 and 10,” Hardy said. “His physicality and presence continues to be massive for our team, the toughness that he shows day in and day out.

“Obviously, he got hit in the head pretty hard. There was bleeding, but (he) was pretty angry at me and wanted to stay in the game. His presence with our young players has been tremendous.”

Bailey also had big plays down the stretch. He had eight points in the fourth quarter — including two dunks — and he finished with 20 points.

Collier also ended the night with 18 points and 10 assists in the win.

The Jazz looked to be running away with the game late, but a sequence of a 3-pointer and a dunk from Edwards brought it within two points with just over a minute left.

But George stepped up once again and hit a dagger 3-pointer from the corner to put Utah back up five, and that put the Timberwolves away.

George’s 43 points are a career high, and his first time scoring at least 40.

“It was a team effort tonight,” George said. “That’s a tough team on the other end. (We’re) coming off the road, heartbreaking loss, and then we got to come in and play a tough team.

“We kind of were just like, ‘Just like be tired later.’”

Tuesday’s win also marks the first time the Jazz have won a game this season without Markkanen. They hold a 1-10 record without him.

“Playing without Lauri obviously changes the dynamic of a lot of guys’ roles because of the load he carries every night,” Hardy said. “I think it’s a very good signal that we’re capable of playing good basketball, and winning basketball when he doesn’t play.

“But, I do think that somebody of his caliber being out of the lineup for a long period, that’s where you see some of the inconsistency. People are playing kind of above their role too much.”