SALT LAKE CITY -- For Kyle Korver, it's a toss-up: Christmas vs. St. Patrick's Day.
"It's pretty close to Christmas," said Korver on Wednesday, referring to St. Patrick's Day, which also happens to be his birthday.
"It's nice that everybody would come out and celebrate today. I'd like to thank everyone for doing that."
Decked out in a green throwback uniform, Korver turned 29 on Wednesday and celebrated with a 122-100 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves.
The birthday boy scored a season-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting (3-of-4 from behind the 3-point arc).
Following that morning's shoot-around, Korver wore Vans skateboarding shoes dotted with green shamrocks.
When he was asked if he had any plans for the evening, he smiled and dryly said: "We have a game at 7 o'clock, so I'm just going to take a nap this afternoon and get some food. Then afterwards I think I'll hang out with some friends."
Korver also said he sympathized with the Timberwolves, who came into Wednesday's game on the heels of an ugly 152-114 loss to Phoenix a night earlier.
He noted that during the 2006-07 season, while playing for Philadelphia, the 76ers suffered a 124-74 loss to Houston on their home floor.
A night later the Sixers lost by 21 at Detroit.
"It was bad," he said. "It was not a good week. You get beat that bad, you're embarrassed. You want to come out and play hard and play well."
GAME 68 Jazz 122, Timberwolves 100
* BEST PLAY: Deron Williams posterizes Al Jefferson with a monster dunk with 6:50 left in the third quarter. It puts the Jazz up 68-60 and sparks a 12-4 run that sends the T-Wolves reeling.
* BEST LINE: Paul Millsap comes off the bench to score 21 points and 11 rebounds.
* KEY STAT: As a team the Jazz notch 15 steals. Ronnie Price leads the team with four.
* SIDELINE MOMENT: During a timeout midway through the second quarter a yellow Lab puppy, on hand for a pet adoption promotion, relieves herself on the court near referee Derrick Stafford. A Jazz ballboy winds up cleaning up the mess.
* MILESTONE: Williams notches nine or more assists in 21 consecutive games. It becomes the longest streak in the NBA since 1996-97 when Mark Jackson does it in 29 straight.
* INJURY REPORT: Price (sprained wrist) and Andrei Kirilenko (calf strain) both were listed as gametime decisions on the pregame injury report. Both played, however, Kirilenko aggravated the injury in the third quarter and did not return. Williams sprained his left ankle in the first quarter, but returned.
* ETC.: Perhaps tired of answering questions about his ailing left shoulder, Williams avoided the media after Wednesday's shootaround. When Kirilenko emerged from the locker room and began talking to reporters, D-Will used the distraction to slip away down the hallway and out to his car. ... Kirilenko and Mehmet Okur participated in a FIBA photoshoot after shootaround. Each player wore his home country's uniform. The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be held later this summer in Istanbul, Turkey. ...
Before Wednesday's game, Carlos Boozer loudly declared Duke - his alma mater - as his pick to win this year's NCAA Tournament. When asked which team he had winning it all, Boozer said, "The Dookies, baby!" ... The Jazz are 22-1 when leading after three quarters. Minnesota now is 0-28 when trailing on the road after three quarters. ... T-Wolves dropped their 11th straight and 17th out of 18.
* UP NEXT: Jazz at Phoenix on Friday.
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