John Collins scored 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and made a game-winning assist to boost the Utah Jazz to a 117-116 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night in Salt Lake City.
After a late rally put Minnesota up by one in the waning moments, Collins used a nifty touch pass to set up a Walker Kessler dunk with nine seconds left in a back-and-forth contest.
Utah then clinched the victory after losing four of the previous five when Donte DiVincenzo missed a last-second layup attempt.
Brice Sensabaugh scored 17, Isaiah Collier dished out a career-high 14 assists with 11 points and Kyle Filipowski added 11 points and 13 rebounds in the thrilling win for Utah.
Collin Sexton scored 13 points in 17 minutes after missing 10 games due to an ankle injury. KJ Martin added 11 points, including some key dunks down the stretch, and Kessler finished with nine points to go with a dozen boards and two blocks.
Naz Reid led Minnesota with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Jaden McDaniels totaled 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Minnesota lost for the second straight night and the sixth time in eight games. The Timberwolves played without star Anthony Edwards, who was suspended for one game after picking up his 16th technical foul of the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.
The Timberwolves were up 40-38 after the first quarter and snagged a 59-46 lead in the second quarter with a 15-2 run.
Utah used a 17-6 surge to knot it up at 67-all and went ahead by 12 with a 14-0 run.
The Timberwolves caught back up after a 17-5 run. Rob Dillingham’s layup with seven minutes left gave Minnesota a 104-103 lead.
The Jazz jumped ahead 113-106 in a 13-4 push.
Alexander-Walker ignited a final 10-2 surge with a 3. DiVincenzo drained a trey for a one-point Wolves lead with 1:31 left.
Utah, which shot 51.1 percent from the field compared to Minnesota’s 43.6 percent, didn’t score again until it counted most in the final seconds.
