http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/sports/basketball/16823491.htm Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said before Friday's game that he wasn't worried about his team's travel problems. Turns out, he didn't need to fret as the Jazz shot 57.5 percent en route to a 109-83 victory over the Timberwolves at Target Center. Because of Thursday's snowstorm, the Jazz didn't arrive in the Twin Cities until Friday morning. They sat on the runway in Memphis for almost five hours on Thursday before deciding to spend the night there and leave Friday morning. The Jazz took an 8 a.m. flight that landed a little after 10 a.m. here, but Sloan said the travel problems wouldn't be a big issue for his players. "They had everything you would need: food, water, warmth, a nice place to lay back in a chair and relax," Sloan said. The Jazz couldn't hold practice Thursday and didn't have a shootaround Friday morning. Sloan wasn't worried about that, either. "If our guys use that for an excuse, they're looking to lose," Sloan said. Utah was Minnesota's opponent on Nov. 1, 1991, on the heels of the legendary Halloween blizzard that hammered the Twin Cities. Turkey talk: Jazz center Mehmet Okur is a little envious that the Wolves are going to Istanbul, Turkey, for training camp next season. Okur is one of two Turks in the NBA, along with Hedo Turkoglu. "We should go," Okur said. "I talked with (NBA Commissioner) David Stern at all-star break. I asked him why we don't go instead of Minnesota. He said they're going for this summer, and hopefully in the future we'll go to Turkey. Good for them. It's a great city." Cooling off: Wolves center Mark Blount shot just 39.3 percent in his first five games after the all-star break, with the Wolves going 1-4. He averaged 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds after he averaged 22.8 points and seven rebounds in the previous four games. Wittman said defenders are closing out quicker on Blount, a midrange jump shooter. "I think sometimes when he then tries to beat the guy off the dribble, he gets himself in trouble with turnovers or travels," Wittman said. Briefly: The start of the game was delayed about 30 minutes because the baskets weren't the correct height, and maintenance crews had to fix them. ‧ This was the first time the Wolves lost consecutive home games by at least 20 points. Dallas beat Minnesota 91-65 Tuesday night at Target Center. --

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