Timberwolves get solid efforts but fall short

Three Timberwolves players took advantage of their expanded roles in Minnesota’s game against the Jazz on Thursday, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune writes. Malik Beasley, Jaden McDaniels and Jake Layman all gave a solid effort, but Minnesota still lost 128-116 without Karl-Anthony Towns or Anthony Edwards available.

Beasley finished with 33 points on 13-of-25 shooting, while McDaniels (16 points and nine rebounds) and Layman (13 points and seven rebounds) provided respectable contributions. Minnesota struggled to contain Utah’s star players, however, also letting the Jazz shoot 16-of-39 (41%) from deep.

“He’s shooting at a high level from three and getting a lot of good looks and staying really committed to it,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said of Beasley, whose 33 points led all scorers in the game. “There’s no second-guessing his shot. He’s locked in. He’s been really, really good. Mostly it’s just his shot selection is leading to good shots.”

Here are some other notes from the Northwest tonight:

• Jazz star Donovan Mitchell will miss Utah's upcoming two-game road trip due to a lower back strain, Sarah Todd of the Deseret News tweets. Mitchell will stay in Salt Lake City and receive treatment. Utah plays in San Antonio on Monday and Portland on Wednesday.
• The Nuggets have reasons to be optimistic when Jamal Murray returns from a torn ACL, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Denver has a championship-caliber roster on paper, but the Nuggets have struggled to stay healthy in recent seasons. The club ranks sixth in the Western Conference at 15-16.
• Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has improved from his 2020-21 Most Valuable Player season, Singer writes in a separate article for the Denver Post. In 26 games this season, Jokic has averaged 25.9 points, 13.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists, shooting 58% from the floor and 37% from deep.