Jazz upset Timberwolves as a 12.5 point underdog

Keyonte George (YouTube)

The Utah Jazz came through with a significant upset this week as they defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-122 as a 12.5 point underdog at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Jazz had a spectacular fourth quarter as they outscored the Timberwolves 43-27.

Two Jazz players had exceptional performances. Guard Keyonte George of Lewisville, Texas had a career high with 43 points and center Jusuf Nurkic of Tuzia, Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded a triple-double. For Nurkic, it was his second career triple-double. Nurkic had 16 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists in the Jazz win over the Timberwolves.

Nurkic’s first career triple double came while he was with the Portland Trail Blazers. On January 16, 2019, Nurkic had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 129-112 Trail Blazers win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Three more Jazz players reached double digits in scoring. Rookie small forward Ace Bailey of Chattanooga, Tennessee, who was the fifth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Rutgers University, had 20 points, point guard Isaiah Collier of Atlanta, Georgia had 18 points, and center Kyle Filipowski of Middletown, New York had 11 points. Collier actually had a double-double coming off the bench as he had 10 assists.

This was the Jazz’s second win in 2026 as a double digit underdog. On January 12, they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 even though they were a 13 point underdog.

Utah improved to a record of 15 wins and 29 losses for a winning percentage of .341. The only two teams they are better than in the Western Conference are the Sacramento Kings (12 wins and 33 losses), and the New Orleans Pelicans (10 wins and 36 losses).