The Utah Jazz are falling prey to their own mistakes once again

After getting run in the 2nd half on Saturday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Jazz got good news before their Monday night rematch - leading scorer Lauri Markkanen would play for the first time in 6 games.

At the outset, Markkanen's presence seemed to help the young Jazz, as 7 players scored in the opening quarter to boost the home team to a 37-25 lead, as both teams were red-hot from the field (Minnesota 55%, Utah 61%).

In the 2nd, the Jazz cooled off a bit and the game tightened up as Naz Reid scored 8 points to get the Wolves closer. The Jazz led by 6 at the half, 59-53, and kept Anthony Edwards in check with 3-10 shooting from the field.

However in the 3rd Quarter, Edwards shook off the Jazz defenders for 12 points and several highlights, while Collin Sexton provided 9 points for the Jazz as the game was knotted 83-all heading into the 4th.

And then the Wolves showed why they're a Top 3 team in the NBA, going on a 15-6 run and taking control of the game. The Jazz missed shot after shot, turned it over quite a lot, and ultimately fell short as the Wolves rode to a 114-104 win.

Collin Sexton led the way for the Jazz with 24 points, while Lauri Markkanen had 22 points in his return.

Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George combined for 16 of the 17 Jazz turnovers on the night, which was hard to fathom as they took care of the ball very well in the first half, but coughed it up at will after halftime.

John Collins left the game after a nasty Edwards dunk in the 3rd quarter left him with concussion-like symptoms. He had 11 points and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes.

Walker Kessler played 28 minutes and recorded 14 rebounds, 2 assists, and a blocked shot to go with his 6 points. It was good to see him get significant minutes for the first time since missing 4 games recently. The 14 boards were his most in nearly 3 months.

The Jazz (29-39) head on the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-20) on Wednesday, then off to face the Dallas Mavericks (39-29) on Thursday before finishing up with a game at the Houston Rockets (32-35) on Saturday. They remain 9th in the lottery standings after tonight's loss.