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Al Jefferson Returns To The Target Center Tonight With Jazz Vs Timberwolves

Al Jefferson’s already played back at the Target Center once this season since the Wolves traded him this offseason, but tonight he returns lugging an injury-filled roster that just barely won Wednesday night after Jefferson made a buzzer beater to defeat the Toronto Raptors.

That said, the more important story might be to see if Kevin Love can continue his double-double streak — or if the Wolves can begin a winning streak!

Last night, Minnesota Timberwolves power forward Kevin Love broke Moses Malone’s consecutive double-double streak by scoring 16 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in less than 27 minutes against the Indiana Pacers. Tonight, Love’s Wolves will look to start a new streak at home against the Utah Jazz: Winning.

The Wolves last won consecutive games in early February during a road-trip that included back-to-back victories against the New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets to give Minnesota two of their three wins in February. After last night’s win against the Pacers -along with winnable games coming up against the Golden State Warriors and on the road at Utah - it’s plausible that the Wolves could go on a pleasant four-game win streak.

The matchup to watch, as Tim pointed out over at Canis Hoopus, is Love versus recent D-League call-up Jeremy Evans.

Kevin Love vs. Jeremy Evans

Only six days ago, Jeremy Evans was starting for the Utah Flash of the D-League. Now, he’ll be going against the best power forward in the NBA. In his first NBA start – on Wednesday against Toronto – Evans still played only 15 minutes. He went 1-of-4 for 2 points along with 5 rebounds and three personal fouls.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Kevin Love got a double-double in the first half on one leg…that is beyond good. They need a whole new adjective for what Love did on Wednesday night. I haven’t heard that many standing ovations at the Target Center since the last Britney Spears concert.

Winner: Kevin Love

Tonight will also mark the first time Ty Corbin, a former Wolves’ player, will return to Minnesota as head coach. Corbin took over the Jazz last month when Jerry Sloan retired.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.