Utah Jazz eliminated from playoffs with loss to Timberwolves
Mar 18, 2026, 8:39 PM
Brice Sensabaugh #28 of the Utah Jazz goes up for a shot against Donte DiVincenzo #0 of the Minnesota Timberwolves (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz were on the wrong end of a lopsided 147-111 blowout at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Brice Sensabaugh led the Jazz with 41 points, two shy of his career high.
Ayo Dosunmu led the Timberwolves with 23.
Related: Jazz fall to Timberwolves to close road trip
Jazz officially eliminated from playoffs
With Wednesday’s loss, the Jazz were officially eliminated from playoff contention.
The Jazz sit 13 games behind Golden State with 13 games remaining. The Warriors also hold the season tiebreaker, leaving Utah with no path to overtake them in the standings.
The Jazz will miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, tying the franchise’s longest drought since relocating to Utah in 1979.
After the move, the Jazz failed to qualify for the postseason during their first four seasons in Utah. They matched that absence from 2013 to 2016 under Ty Corbin and Quin Snyder.
Merely a formality at this point, but the @utahjazz have officially been eliminated from the playoffs with tonight’s loss to Minnesota.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 19, 2026
The Jazz ended each of the previous four-season droughts by winning a first-round playoff series the following year. In 1984, the Frank Layden-led team defeated the Denver Nuggets 3-2 to advance to the Western Conference semifinals.
In 2017, Snyder guided the Jazz to a four-games-to-three series victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Combined with the current four-season absence, a three-year drought from 2004 to 2006, and a single missed postseason in 2011, the Jazz have now missed the playoffs 12 times since John Stockton and Karl Malone left the franchise in 2003. They have reached the postseason 11 times in that span.
The team previously made the playoffs in 20 consecutive seasons.
Ace Bailey is dialed in from downtown
Though the Jazz were eliminated from playoff contention, there’s still plenty of work left to do over the final 13 games of the season.
One key will be the further development of the youngest players on the roster who are seeing the majority of the playing time.
Rookie Ace Bailey has already begun to show late-season strides, finding his groove as a three-point shooter over his last five games.
ACE THREE COUNTER: ♠️♥️♣️♦️
back-to-back from deep and he’s up to 12 points! pic.twitter.com/iz2HnmBrMe
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 19, 2026
The 19-year-old entered the contest in Minnesota having connected on 15 of his previous 32 attempts from downtown, and added five makes on 10 attempts against the Timberwolves.
More importantly, Bailey has shown measurable progression between the first 30 games of his career and his most recent 30-game stint.
From the season opener through December 31, the fifth overall pick averaged 10.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 44 percent from the floor and nearly 36 percent from three.
Since then, the wing has averaged 14.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists while shooting 45 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three.
It’s not the most exciting developmental path, but right now what the @utahjazz need from Ace Bailey is to become a legit 3-and-d wing.
If he can do that consistently next year he’ll be a huge positive with the starters.
His iso/playmaking game can evolve from there.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 19, 2026
With Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Walker Kessler likely manning four of the Jazz’s five starting spots next season, the team has just one slot open in the backcourt.
If Bailey can continue to knock down threes at his current rate, he’ll have a strong argument to fill the final starting role in October.
Against Minnesota, the Tennessee native recorded 17 points, two rebounds, and two assists in 25 minutes.
Next Utah Jazz Broadcast
The Jazz will return home to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
Are you on Instagram? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
