Mike Conley had 25 points in the Timberwolves 119-100 win over the Jazz on Saturday. The former Utah point guard admits he took extra satisfaction in the outcome, according to Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
The Jazz played a video tribute to the current Timberwolves floor leader prior to the contest. “There was a little bit [of extra motivation]. Not gonna lie,” Conley said. “But at the same time, man, I was trying to have fun. … Just trying to soak up the moment. You get a video played and that doesn’t happen very often and it just shows so much gratitude.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Deandre Ayton said he had some personal struggles adjusting to playing in Portland after getting traded by Phoenix, he told Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Ayton feels much more comfortable now and it’s showing in his production. The Trail Blazers center has averaged 27.2 points and 15.0 rebounds over his last five games. “I felt like I adjusted quickly. But at the same time, it’s good to acknowledge that we are human and things like that do have to take into place where you have to adjust to certain cities and teammates and things like that,” Ayton said.
- Opponents are sagging off Josh Giddey and the Thunder guard is learning how to adjust to that strategy, according to Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman. Giddey is a 30.4% three-point shooter during his three-year career. He’s averaging 14.4 points on 11.6 shot attempts this month. “Sometimes it can be a confidence killer. Seeing a big guard gap you and daring you to shoot the ball,” he said. “But you have to stay confident. You have to trust it because the second you don’t, they win and it falls into their hands.”
- The Nuggets lost for just the second time in 13 games since the All-Star break on Sunday. Dallas’ Kyrie Irving hit an improbable hook shot at the buzzer. “You look at the wins, bro,” Jamal Murray told Bennett Durando of the Denver Post. “We’ve been winning, and two losses, trying to find a common denominator, like, bro hit a left-handed floater from the top of the key going away from the basket. It’s an amazing shot. And we played terrible up until the last couple minutes, so we’re fighting and we were just happy to be in that position, the way we played throughout the game.”