Jazz vs. Timberwolves: Sweet Revenge

Utah took it to Minnesota in a big way tonight in the EnergySolutions Arena. Perhaps the memory of last week's disappointing loss to the T-wolves was still lingering in their minds, because they sent the "pesky Wolves" out of the gym with their tails between their legs. It's not always a good sign when the seats are empty with several minutes left in the game, but the Jazz stuck a fork in Minnesota early in the third quarter and cruised to a 105-76 win for their 17th straight home win.

The first half was a fairly strong showing; Utah heading into the intermission with a 51-39 advantage. There wasn't a whole lot to be excited about up to this point, other than a few sky-high dunks from Ronnie Brewer. He also hit two early treys and had 12 points by halftime. It wasn't until the second half that the crowd really got into it. The Jazz came out in the third and absolutely hit the Wolves right in the mouth! They reeled off a string of 15 straight points to start the third and never looked back. Deron Williams had another great game with 21 points and 11 assists -- most of those points came on identical plays: killer cross-over and quick slash to the basket for the easy layup. Carlos Boozer was strong underneath, pulling down 14 boards to go with his 16 points. The Jazz are tough to beat when those guys are on their games.

Game ball: Ronnie Brewer. He had five or six spectacular dunks, several of those coming on alley-oops. He was slashing to the basket and making his defender look foolish all night. He ended the night with 16 points and eight rebounds and five plays worthy of SportsCenter's top 10 plays of the night. What an improvement he's made this year!

Big game Friday in Phoenix against the "Big Cactus" Shaquille O'Neal and the Suns. Utah should be able to rack up some numbers against them (Denver scored 126 on the Suns tonight). They may not have Andrei Kirilenko back for the game, but if they get a team effort like tonight, the Jazz should be sitting pretty heading into the Rocky Mountain Showdown on Saturday.