Jazz Rally To Take Down Minnesota On Keyonte George’s Career Night
Jan 20, 2026, 9:39 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – Keyonte George and Jusuf Nurkić kept the Utah Jazz close before Isaiah Collier and Ace Bailey keyed a furious fourth-quarter rally to topple Minnesota 127-122.
It was Will Hardy’s 100th win as a head coach and Utah’s first this season without Lauri Markkanen.
The Jazz (14-29, 13th in West) returned home from a five-game road trip to host the Minnesota Timberwolves (27-17, 4th in West) at Delta Center on Tuesday, January 20.
Utah is already 0-2 against the Wolves this season. Minnesota handed the Jazz a 137-97 blowout loss on November 7. Three days later, Utah fell 120-113 in Salt Lake City.
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it's GREAT to be home 💜#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/U1bKp9e86B
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
Keyonte George was spectacular, scoring a career-high 43 points.
Vet big man Jusuf Nurkić logged the second triple-double of his career. He finished the day with 16 points, 18 rebounds, and ten assists while battling former All-Star Rudy Gobert to a standstill.
Rookie Ace Bailey exploded for 20 points. It is the fourth time he has reached the 20-point plateau.
Pregame
Jazz Injury Report:
OUT – Elijah Harkless (G League)
OUT – Walker Kessler (left shoulder; injury recovery)
OUT – Kevin Love (rest)
OUT – Lauri Markkanen (illness)
OUT – Georges Niang (left foot; fourth metatarsal stress reaction)
OUT – Brice Sensabaugh (illness)
OUT – John…
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 20, 2026
From South America to @deltacenter, WELCOME @UtahJazzEspanol! 💜
They're on-site and ready to cheer on the squad tonight 👏#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/GvdNRShSqd
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 20, 2026
What will the end of the 2025-2026 season look like for the Utah Jazz? 🤔@BensHoops and @CHoltSports talk about this and more on this week's episode of the Jazz Notes podcast! pic.twitter.com/VUDh2oTcvU
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 20, 2026
LISTEN LIVE: @utahjazz are back at Delta Center to face the @Timberwolves on the @kslsports app, @KSLSportsZone and:https://t.co/sGdC0grhgt pic.twitter.com/6B9rDMPYXv
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
First Quarter
Minnesota jumped out to an early advantage behind seven points from Julius Randle.
first five out to start the homestand 🫡#StartingLineup pic.twitter.com/0TriEcKeiU
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
Rookie Ace Bailer and third-year guard Keyonte George each scored eight points as Utah tried to keep pace with the Wolves.
the assignment was to get a bucket ✍️
safe to say we 𝐀𝐜𝐞𝐝 it 📝 pic.twitter.com/rjzSNpS4Xq
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
It’s a limited sample size, but the general rule of thumb for Cody Williams since January 1 is any shot inside this green box is a generally a pretty good one.
He’s almost never shooting outside this box now, and it’s the reason he’s having more success. pic.twitter.com/rUNyGUOgsN
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
Utah trailed 34-29 after 12 minutes.
At the end of one, the @utahjazz trail the @timberwolves 34-29.
Jazz are shooting 6-13 from downtown, which has allowed them to stay in this game early. #takeNote pic.twitter.com/OgtCRmfjxR
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
Second Quarter
With Lauri Markkanen and Brice Sensabaugh unavailable, an even greater scoring burden fell on George. The young guard responded by starting 7-of-11 from the field.
George crossed the 20-point barrier amid a 14-2 Jazz run that gave them a 55-50 lead.
Nurk had the vision the whole time 👁️🧠 pic.twitter.com/jqfFun51L8
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
The Jazz took a 59-58 lead into halftime thanks to a game-high 25 points. It was the third 25-point first half of his career.
Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 17 points, followed by 12 points from Julius Randle. Rudy Gobert blocked four shots and grabbed seven rebounds in 16 minutes.
At the half, the @utahjazz lead the @timberwolves 59-58.
Jazz are in front due in no small part to Keyonte George’s massive 25 first half points. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/tYw07quEvN
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
Third Quarter
Jusuf Nurkic and Julius Randle just had a huge collision at the rim and Nurk appeared to get hit in the face.
He's been down for a while.
He's getting back up now, but he's got some blood above his right eye.
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
From my angle, it looked like Julius Randle went over to possibly apologize to Nurk after hitting him in the face.
Couldn’t tell if they made amends. pic.twitter.com/HfoocoHz8z
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
Cody Williams Dunk Counter:
1 game with a dunk https://t.co/iptS2ipd2r
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
OH MY, CODY! 😱 pic.twitter.com/EzQEGWwsXe
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
Every time I watch Anthony Edwards I like him more.
He gets better at something every time you see him.
Not just his back-to-the-basket game this year, which was a major narrative, but he's just so in control of his emotions now.
Elite player.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
Cody Williams gets the buzzer-beating tip-in, and the @utahjazz cut the @timberwolves lead to 12, 96-84 with 12 minutes left to play.#takenotepic.twitter.com/NyrvIaCrVO
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
Fourth Quarter
Trailing by nine early in the final period, Isaiah Collier got out in front on a fast break. The former USC guard dumped a pass to Bailey, who started the possession with a steal and an outlet pass on the other end.
Yeesh pic.twitter.com/gsOd2y3S34 https://t.co/Fw9f3nCYwB
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
The rookie wing rose above the defense for a thunderous throwdown that electrified the home crowd.
Utah continued pushing the pace, using a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to 102-100 after Bailey’s third three of the night.
Ace Bailey and Isaiah Collier are leading a furious comeback to open the fourth quarter, as the @utahjazz have outscored the @Timberwolves 16-6to open the period.
Jazz down 102-100 with 9 minutes left to play. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/YNiOx9GOMN
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
Rudy Gobert get's T'd up for elbowing Nurkic in the face, the second time he's been hit above the shoulders tonight.
Nurk picks up a personal foul.
My question, why do so many people in the NBA want to hit Nurk in the face?
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
Veteran center Jusuf Nurkić earned the second triple-double of his career when he found Collier cutting backdoor for a lay-in.
The Jazz run extended to 22-7 to grab a four-point lead.
10 points, 10 assists, 13 rebounds for Nurk.
The last two triple-doubles for @utahjazz were 5,801 days apart, nearly 16 years.
The gap between the latest two was 2 years and 19 days. https://t.co/ozHEKo7BMk
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
The fun continued minutes later when Keyonte George nailed a step-back jumper to reach 40 points for the first time in his young career.
Jusuf Nurkic has a triple-double, Keyonte George has a new career-high with 40 points, and the @utahjazz lead the @timberwolves 112-109 with 4:02 left to play.
Great game in Salt Lake City. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/l49LjuAUe5
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
when Nurk's in the paint great things tend to happen 🎨 pic.twitter.com/gJauvSOGNd
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 21, 2026
A reminder, the @utahjazz selected Keyonte George with the @timberwolves 2023 first-round draft pick.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 21, 2026
IT'S KEYONTE GEORGE'S NIGHT!
HE'S GOT 43 FOR UTAH 🎶 pic.twitter.com/IYcxlN6pe7
— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2026
The @utahjazz extend the @timberwolves losing streak to 3 with a 127-122 win in Salt Lake City.
Keyonte George's career-high 43 points carried the Jazz throughout the night. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/esUwoxm0Al
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 21, 2026
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10- 12 p.m. with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
