MINNESOTA vs UTAH
When: 12/26/2020 9:00 PM
Where:

TV: 9:00 PM
LINE: -7.5
PREDICTION: UTAH , MINNESOTA

Oddsmakers currently have the UTAH listed as -7.5 point favorites versus the MINNESOTA, while the game’s total is sitting at 225.5.

After season-opening victories and a two-day Christmas break, the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz will square off against each other Saturday night.

This will be the first away test for the Timberwolves, who begin a three-game road trip against the Jazz after defeating Detroit at home on Wednesday.

Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota to the 111-101 win with 22 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists. The inspired effort was his first game since his mother, Jacqueline Cruz-Towns, died of complications from COVID-19 in April. The Timberwolves held a moment of silence and played a tribute video in her honor prior to tipoff.

Towns said his mother’s passing has changed him forever. He’s still taking his new reality “moment by moment.”

“You may see me smiling and stuff, but that Karl died on April 13th,” Towns said after the win. “He’s never coming back. I don’t remember that man. I don’t know that man. You’re talking to the physical me, but my soul has been killed off a long time ago.”

Minnesota didn’t hold a lead until Towns put the team ahead 98-97 with 3:38 remaining. The Timberwolves had trailed by 12 points in the third quarter.

Malik Beasley complemented Towns’ performance with a team-high 23 points. Rookie Anthony Edwards, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft, made his NBA debut with 15 points. D’Angelo Russell contributed 18 points while Jarrett Culver tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Utah began the season with an impressive 120-100 blowout victory at Portland that same night.

Days after signing a $205 million contract extension, Rudy Gobert had an excellent season premiere with 20 points and 17 rebounds to lead the visitors.

“It’s fun when we play the way we played (Wednesday night),” Gobert said. “That’s the way we’ve been practicing every single day. It’s being unselfish.”

The Jazz spent much of the game shooting far from the center and the basket, amassing 50 3-point attempts. Five players drained at least three of Utah’s 19 3-pointers, with Bojan Bogdanovic, Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell each hitting four 3-pointers. Mitchell finished with 20 points, Conley scored 18 and Bogdanovic added 15 in his first outing since suffering a surgery-requiring wrist injury on March 9.

Jordan Clarkson resumed his strong bench role, leading Jazz reserves with 15 points and seven rebounds. Joe Ingles chipped in 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Derrick Favors totaled 10 points and seven boards after re-signing with Utah following one season away with New Orleans.

Utah’s defense stymied Damian Lillard, who finished with nine points after a scoreless first half. The Jazz led by as many as 23 in the first half and took a 65-44 lead into the break.

“I’m not saying we’re going to go out there and keep guys like Dame and Steph (Curry) and (Devin Booker) and all those guys to nine points in the game or whatever,” Mitchell said. “It’s about making it tough and being able to stay solid, and then also trusting that you have each other’s backs.”

Minnesota earned a victory in its only trip to Utah last season, a 112-102 win that snapped a four-game losing streak in Vivint Arena.

T-Wolves guards Jordan McLaughlin and Jaylen Nowell are listed as day-to-day. Utah doesn’t have a player on the injury report.

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BROOKLYN vs UTAH
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)
LINE: -7
PREDICTION: Jazz 111, Nets 105

Oddsmakers currently have the UTAH listed as -7 point favorites versus the BROOKLYN, while the game’s total is sitting at 220.

The Utah Jazz look to record their fourth consecutive victory when they host the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. The Jazz are averaging 110.3 points during the three wins and notched a season-best point total in Monday’s 122-108 road victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Utah recorded a season-high 30 assists and was 16-of-35 from 3-point range against the Warriors with the backcourt duo of Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell each knocking down five from behind the arc. “I still think we have a lot of room to improve but I think tonight was a small example of what we can do when guys are looking for each other and making the game easier for each other,” Conley told reporters afterward. The Nets are 1-1 on a five-game road trip and will be looking to rebound from being whipped 138-112 by the Phoenix Suns on Sunday. “The biggest issue was the Suns. They dominated us in every fashion,” Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward. “They were unbelievable, we were obviously sub-par and not up to our standards and when you have that kind of disparity, you can lose by 30 on the road. These games happen in the NBA. … We’ll work on it and see if we can bounce back.”

TV: 9 p.m. ET, YES (Brooklyn), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE NETS (4-5): Star point guard Kyrie Irving failed to reach the 20-point mark for the first time this season when he scored 15 points against the Suns and never visited the free-throw line while being outclassed by Phoenix point guard Ricky Rubio (22 points, 12 assists, zero turnovers). “I don’t think I shot one free throw, which is a tell-tale sign of just how aggressive I am not in the game,” Irving said afterward. “A lot of the accountability falls on me and really the game plan of guarding Ricky and not being in the right spots.” Guard Spencer Dinwiddie is averaging 26 points on the road trip and had 18 against Phoenix following a season-high 34 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (7-3): The trio of center Rudy Gobert (a season-best 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting), Mitchell (23) and Conley (22) combined for 70 points as Utah controlled play against the Warriors. “I think we were playing with a better flow and better rhythm,” Conley said. “We were getting back up and down the floor a little easier than we were the past few games. Guys got some easier looks, which I think made us vitally more comfortable.” Gobert, who had 14 rebounds, is averaging 15.4 boards over the past five games with the range being from 14 to 17.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Nets have lost in each of their last three visits to Salt Lake City.

2. Utah SF Bojan Bogdanovic tallied 12 points against Golden State after averaging 26.5 over the previous two games.

3. Brooklyn C DeAndre Jordan (ankle) returned from a one-game absence to produce 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go with 12 rebounds against Phoenix.

PREDICTION: Jazz 111, Nets 105

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UTAH JAZZ vs OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Monday, December 10, 2018
Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: -6
PREDICTION: OKLAHOMA CITY , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the OKLAHOMA CITY listed as -6 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 216.5.

The Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t lost two games in a row since opening the season 0-4, and they’ll try to avoid that fate when they host the Utah Jazz on Monday. The Thunder suffered a 114-112 loss at Chicago on Friday in the finale of a three-game road trip and go back on the road for two more following Monday’s contest.

“A slip-up is all it is tonight,” Oklahoma City’s Paul George told reporters of the setback to the Bulls. “We dropped one. But we’re going to keep it rolling.” Russell Westbrook notched his 109th career triple-double with 24 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists in the loss for Oklahoma City. The Jazz followed a 2-0 homestand with Sunday’s 110-97 loss at San Antonio despite receiving a combined 53 points from starting guards Donovan Mitchell and Ricky Rubio. Monday marks the first meeting between the teams since the Jazz knocked off the Thunder in six games during the first round of the 2018 playoffs.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Oklahoma

ABOUT THE JAZZ (13-14): Both Mitchell and Rubio were 3-for-8 from 3-point range at San Antonio while their teammates combined to go 3-for-13 as Utah fell to 9-8 on the road. A bright spot was the play off the bench of veteran Thabo Sefolosha, who made all four of his shot attempts and is 9-for-12 over his last three games. Rudy Gobert had a rare outing without a double-double (12 points, seven rebounds), but he established a career high with seven assists.

ABOUT THE THUNDER (16-8): Oklahoma City was bothered by the shot-blocking presence of Gobert when the teams met in the playoffs, and is preparing to take on the 7-1 figure in the middle. “He clogs the paint. He doesn’t move around that area very much,” George said. “We’ll kind of figure out ways of attacking him. It’s not impossible.” Steven Adams will draw the individual matchup with Gobert after producing 21 points and 10 rebounds at Chicago.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Westbrook has registered five triple-doubles in his last eight games.

2. Mitchell is averaging 26 points over his last four road contests.

3. Oklahoma City won three of the four regular-season meetings in 2017-18, holding Utah to 96 points or fewer each time.

PREDICTION: Thunder 112, Jazz 104

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UTAH JAZZ vs MIAMI HEAT
When: 6:00 PM  ET, Sunday, December 2, 2018
Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

TV: 6:05 PM
LINE: 3.5
PREDICTION: MIAMI , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the MIAMI listed as 3.5 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 209.5.

The road is serving the Utah Jazz well so far, with the team taking the first two stops of a three-game trip over Brooklyn and Charlotte. The Jazz can get back to .500 for the first time in over two weeks and sweep the road trip when they visit the Miami Heat on Sunday.

Utah held the Nets to 34.9 percent from the floor in a 101-91 win on Wednesday but needed to outshoot Charlotte to earn a 119-111 victory Friday, and coach Quin Snyder would prefer his team not rely on its offense to win games. “We need to hang our hat on the defensive end,” Snyder told reporters. “I’m glad the ball went in, but we need to keep getting stops.” The Heat are winners of three of their last 11 games but are coming off one of those victories – a 106-101 triumph over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. “We took care of the ball better,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “We had better game management in the course of the game, when we had an opportunity to extend the lead and slow it down without pulling the air out of the ball.”

TV: 6 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Sun (Miami)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (11-12): Utah knocked down 18 3-pointers in Friday’s win, with veteran shooter Kyle Korver making an immediate impact. Korver, 37, was acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier in the week for his second career stint with the Jazz and knocked down 4-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to 14 points in 22 minutes off the bench in his debut. “I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” Korver told reporters. “I knew what I was doing maybe a quarter of the time.”

ABOUT THE HEAT (8-13): Miami shooting guard Josh Richardson is shooting 34.5 percent from the floor over the last three games and missed a game-winning 3-point attempt in a 115-113 loss to Atlanta on Tuesday, but that didn’t stop him from attempting big shots again on Friday. Richardson’s floater in the final minute helped the Heat hang on and avoid squandering a lead that reached 31 points in the second quarter. “That’s what he’s become,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade told reporters of Richardson. “Shoot an airball, miss another one – it don’t matter. The ball is in your hand. If the team don’t believe in you, then they would hide you somewhere. We put the ball in his hand, so he understands the confidence that we have in him.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Heat PG Goran Dragic (knee) is expected to miss his seventh straight game on Sunday.

2. Utah SG Donovan Mitchell is averaging 29.5 points on 24-of-46 shooting in two games since returning from a rib injury.

3. Miami took the last three in the series, including both meetings last season.

PREDICTION: Heat 103, Jazz 98

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UTAH JAZZ vs PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Friday, November 16, 2018
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

TV: 7:05 PM
LINE: -3
PREDICTION: PHILADELPHIA , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the PHILADELPHIA listed as -3 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 216.5.

The Jimmy Butler era began with a loss, but the Philadelphia 76ers seem to think big things are on the horizon. The 76ers will try to earn their first win since adding Butler to the mix when they host the struggling Utah Jazz on Friday.

Butler, who was acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves after a public trade demand and protracted drama, scored 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting in his Philadelphia debut on Wednesday as the 76ers dropped a 111-106 decision at the Orlando Magic. “Obviously, we didn’t get the win, and get the outcome we wanted to have,” Butler, who noted the players were getting along with each other and communicating well, told reporters. “But we got a lot more of these things. I think we will all be better, myself included.” Philadelphia will be taking on a Jazz squad that just suffered its worst loss since the franchise moved to Utah, 118-68 at Dallas on Wednesday. “There was a point where we stopped competing,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “We all have to own that, and obviously the scoreboard reflected that.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), NBCS Philadelphia

ABOUT THE JAZZ (7-7): Utah’s 68 points marked the lowest total of any team in a game this season, and it managed just 22 points after the break. “We just didn’t play with a lot of pride defensively,” guard Donovan Mitchell, who was one of three Jazz players to score in double figures with 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting, told reporters. “Obviously, when shots aren’t falling, our defense has to drive us even more.” Utah shot 31.3 percent from the floor, including 6-of-35 from 3-point range, and committed 22 turnovers in the lopsided decision.

ABOUT THE 76ERS (9-7): Butler’s acquisition pushed much-maligned former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz to a reserve role, and the early returns were positive. Fultz delivered eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and two assists in 21 minutes while serving as the point guard on the second unit. “We played him exclusively as (point guard) tonight, and I saw him make plays out of a middle pick-and-roll, get into the paint,” Philadelphia coach Brett Brown told reporters of Fultz. “I thought defensively he was good tonight as well.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. 76ers C Joel Embiid recorded his first career triple-double with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on Wednesday.

2. Utah SF Jae Crowder is 4-of-21 from the floor in the last two games, including 2-of-16 from beyond the arc.

3. Philadelphia, which is 7-0 at home, took both meetings last season.

PREDICTION: 76ers 109, Jazz 97

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UTAH JAZZ vs MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Monday, November 12, 2018
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: 3
PREDICTION: MEMPHIS , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the MEMPHIS listed as 3 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 205.5.

Despite some shooting woes, Mike Conley’s ability to return from an injury-plagued 2017-18 season has made the Memphis Grizzlies a factor once again in the Western Conference. The Utah Jazz know all about that fact and will try for a third time to defeat Conley and the Grizzlies when the teams meet in Memphis on Monday.

Conley averaged 25.5 points and six rebounds in a pair of wins over the Jazz earlier this season — shooting 34.2 percent — and registered a season-high 32 in Saturday’s 112-106 overtime win against Philadelphia. “I’m not going to lie,” Conley told reporters after finding a rhythm and making 12-of-24 shots against the 76ers. “These whole last couple of weeks have been like just barely missing, barely not making shots, and missing shots I would normally make and feeling good while doing it.” The Jazz were on the mark while shooting a season-high 55.8 percent in Friday’s 123-115 win over the Boston Celtics at home. Joe Ingles matched a career high with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Southeast (Memphis)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (6-6): Ingles was 6-for-27 from the floor over his previous three games before finding the stroke against the Celtics while chipping in a season-high seven assists. Donovan Mitchell added 21 points and Jae Crowder had 20 for Utah, which won two in a row following a four-game losing streak. “We all have picked it up, picked up our energy defensively, picked our focus up,” Mitchell told reporters. “We’ve been having great practices, but we just didn’t put it into the games. I think over the past couple of games, we’ve done that.”

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (7-4): Although some shots haven’t fallen from time to time, Conley’s presence has a massive impact on the rest of the team, something that was missing for all but 12 games last season. “He’s been working his tail off,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the media. “He understands how vital he is to us, the load that he has to bear. He’s been getting in extra work.” The same is true for veteran center Marc Gasol, who recorded his second straight double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds against the Sixers.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Gasol averages 17.8 points on 47.8 percent shooting at home, compared to 12.2 on 33.3 percent on the road.

2. Jazz C Rudy Gobert averaged 14 rebounds and was 7-for-11 from the floor in the two earlier losses to Memphis.

3. Grizzlies F Kyle Anderson had a career-high 14 rebounds in Saturday’s win.

PREDICTION: Grizzlies 107, Jazz 104

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DALLAS MAVERICKS vs UTAH JAZZ
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: 9:05 PM
LINE:
PREDICTION: UTAH , DALLAS

Oddsmakers currently have the UTAH listed as 9.5 point favorites versus the DALLAS, while the game’s total is sitting at 205.5.

Star guard Donovan Mitchell is expected to be back in the lineup when the Utah Jazz host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The Jazz listed Mitchell as probable for the contest after he missed Monday’s loss to Toronto due to a sprained left ankle.

Utah has dropped four straight games and also stands 0-4 at home after falling 124-111 to a Toronto team playing without star forward Kawhi Leonard. “We’ve shown patches where we can be really good and be the team we know we can be,” forward Joe Ingles told reporters, “but we’ve shown a lot more of the other side of it, to this point.” Dallas halted its six-game losing streak by building a 21-point halftime lead en route to notching a 119-100 home win over Washington on Tuesday. The Mavericks are 0-5 on the road this season after posting a miserable 9-32 record last campaign.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (Dallas), AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE MAVERICKS (3-7): Forward Luka Doncic is living up to his billing as an impact rookie as the third overall draft pick scored 23 points against Washington for his fifth 20-point performance of the campaign. The 19-year-old Doncic, who is averaging 19.8 points, has recorded as least 14 in every game and said he can feel the trust building with his teammates. “It’s always hard when you first have new teammates,” Doncic said in a postgame television interview. “Everything is hard to build the chemistry. But as the games go, everything gets better.”

ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-6): Utah is looking nothing like the team that won 48 games last season, and players are searching for answers as to why the intensity is lacking. “Teams come here with the mindset of attacking us. You can feel it,” standout center Rudy Gobert told reporters. “We’re not the Utah Jazz of last year in their head, and they come in here trying to be aggressive, so it’s on us to get past that and be aggressive.” Gobert had his way against the Mavericks on Oct. 28, when he registered 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Jazz recorded a 113-104 victory.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Jazz have won each of the last four meetings and seven of the last eight.

2. Dallas C DeAndre Jordan collected 12 rebounds on Tuesday and has been in double digits in all 10 games.

3. Utah PG Ricky Rubio is 4-of-20 shooting over the last two contests.

PREDICTION: Jazz 107, Mavericks 98

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TORONTO RAPTORS vs UTAH JAZZ
When: 9:00 PM  ET, Monday, November 5, 2018
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

TV: 9:05 PM
LINE: 2
PREDICTION: UTAH , TORONTO

Oddsmakers currently have the UTAH listed as 2 point favorites versus the TORONTO, while the game’s total is sitting at 217.

The Utah Jazz will try for a fourth time to pick up their first home win of the season when they host the red-hot Toronto Raptors on Monday. At 0-3 in Salt Lake City, the Jazz are one of two teams in the NBA yet to record a victory at home, where they will play their next three games.

Utah has been much better on the road but it collapsed down the stretch at Denver on Saturday and fell 103-88. “The score didn’t reflect our effort,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told the media after his team was outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter. “But ultimately you’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We weren’t able to do that in the fourth quarter.” The Raptors are tied for the best record in the NBA after winning 121-107 at the Los Angeles Lakers late Sunday night. Serge Ibaka hit his first 14 shots en route to a career-high 34 points to lift Toronto to the easy victory without star swingman Kawhi Leonard (foot), who is questionable for this one.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, Sportsnet One (Toronto), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE RAPTORS (9-1): Ibaka was 8-for-8 from the floor in the first quarter alone as Toronto raced to a 42-17 lead and he finished 15-for-17, later crediting point guard Kyle Lowry for helping to simplify the attack. “Kyle is making the game so easy for me and [center Jonas Valanciunas],” Ibaka told Sportsnet in a postgame interview. “The fact that he can shoot at the 3-point line just makes the game for us easy.” Lowry’s phenomenal assist binge continued with 15 more helpers against the Lakers, giving the veteran point guard at least 10 in each of the last eight games, and he turned the ball over just once.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-5): Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell missed Friday’s loss to Memphis due to a hamstring injury and left the game in Denver with an ankle issue before returning to complete a 16-point effort. He missed all seven of his 3-point tries against the Nuggets and Utah finished 6-for-31 from beyond the arc, including 2-for-16 by the starters. Rudy Gobert recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Denver for his eighth double-double, second in the league entering Sunday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jazz SG Alec Burks (hand) has missed four straight games.

2. Raptors PF Pascal Siakam has three double-doubles in his last eight games after recording zero in his first 138 career contests.

3. The teams split a pair of meetings last season, with the road team winning both.

PREDICTION: Jazz 110, Raptors 106

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UTAH JAZZ vs MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
When: 8:00 PM  ET, Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

TV: 8:05 PM
LINE: 2.5
PREDICTION: MINNESOTA , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the MINNESOTA listed as 2.5 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 222.5.

Jimmy Butler remains intent on leaving the Minnesota Timberwolves but his ability to put up strong performances may again be needed during Wednesday’s home contest against the Utah Jazz. Butler scored 32 points for his second 30-point outing of the campaign when Minnesota notched a 124-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

Butler is averaging 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 steals despite his trade request drama overshadowing the team’s play. “It’s basketball,” Butler told reporters. “I don’t think nothing that has gone on before this game has anything to do with us going out there and competing. We all go out there and play together, play to win – with or without what is going on.” Utah is looking to complete a sweep of a four-game road trip – it won the first three by an average of 13.7 points – and is thriving behind a balanced attack in which seven players are averaging more than nine points per game. “We’re not about our starters, we are not about our bench and we are not about any one player,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, A&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS North (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-2): Center Rudy Gobert has opened the season with six straight double-doubles and is averaging 17.7 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots. “I want to show that I’m not only a defensive star,” Gobert told reporters about the rise in his offensive game. “I can be a star offensively, too.” Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell is the team’s star and he is averaging 22.8 points and has reached at least 20 points in three straight games and four times overall.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (3-4): Center Karl-Anthony Towns notched his second double-double of the campaign by recording 25 points and 16 rebounds against Lakers. Towns, who led the NBA with 68 double-doubles last season, got off to a slow start this season and scored 17 or fewer points in five of Minnesota’s first six games. Small forward Andrew Wiggins (quadriceps) could miss his fourth straight game and his absence would again be at least partially plugged by rookie Josh Okogie, who scored a season-best 17 points against Los Angeles.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams split four meetings last season.

2. Utah PF Derrick Favors (knee) is expected to return after a one-game absence, while SF Jae Crowder (ankle) is probable after injuring an ankle in Sunday’s 113-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

3. Minnesota PG Jeff Teague is 4-of-22 shooting over the past two games, missing all nine 3-point attempts.

PREDICTION: Jazz 108, Timberwolves 104

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UTAH JAZZ vs NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Saturday, October 27, 2018
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: 7:05 PM
LINE: -1
PREDICTION: NEW ORLEANS , UTAH

Oddsmakers currently have the NEW ORLEANS listed as -1 point favorites versus the UTAH, while the game’s total is sitting at 226.

Utah star Donovan Mitchell snapped out of his early season funk and looks to make it two straight big outings when the Jazz visit the unbeaten New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. Mitchell poured in 38 points and also recorded seven assists to lead the Jazz to a 100-89 triumph over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Mitchell was runner-up in Rookie of the Year balloting last season but the shooting guard had a bumpy start in which he went a porous 21-of-61 shooting over the first three games before breaking out with a 14-of-25 effort against Houston. “The past few games, I’d been struggling because I’d been kind of pressing the issue,” Mitchell told reporters after the win. “I came into the game with the mindset of just finding the open guy,” he told reporters. “That was really my biggest thing.” The Pelicans are the lone undefeated team in the Western Conference after registering a game-ending 9-0 run to post a 117-115 home victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. “That is the reason you have to play for 48 minutes,” New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said in his postgame press conference, “because you never know what is going to happen. We kept chipping away, chipping away.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS New Orleans

ABOUT THE JAZZ (2-2): Mitchell played under the radar for most of last season before people caught on that there was a stellar rookie turning the basketball court into his personal shooting arcade. Things were different leading up to this season as there was a lot of hype surrounding Mitchell and coach Quin Snyder likes it better when his star performer can play relaxed. “Donovan’s a catalyst for us offensively, and our guys know that,” Snyder told reporters. “We can play through him, and when he’s being aggressive he’s not just looking for his own shot. He can make plays for other people as well.”

ABOUT THE PELICANS (4-0): Guard Jrue Holiday capped a 26-point outing by hitting the decisive jumper with two seconds left on Friday to bounce back from a poor showing on Tuesday when he had eight points on 2-of-15 shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers. Superstar big man Anthony Davis was just 6-of-19 shooting against the Nets but still contributed 18 points, 14 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals. Davis’s fourth block of the contest was the 1,000th of his career, making him the 91st player in NBA history to reach the milestone.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Jazz went 3-1 against the Pelicans last season and have prevailed in four straight visits to New Orleans.

2. New Orleans SF Darius Miller (quadriceps) is questionable for Saturday after departing the game against the Nets.

3. Utah C Rudy Gobert posted his 138th career double-double against the Rockets to move into fifth place in franchise history.

PREDICTION: Pelicans 107, Jazz 103

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