"They might be happy to see Al Jefferson in the summer if he returns to visit and go fishing at some of the state's 10,000 lakes.

But Big Al might not be so welcome when he next returns to Minnesota sporting a Utah Jazz uniform.

At the same time, his new fan base and teammates only hope to see more of performances like the one Jefferson had in the second half while leading the Jazz to a stirring 112-107 comeback win over his old squad.

"Al became a focal point down at the end of the ballgame and we couldn't stop him from scoring down there," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "We made some mistakes with Al."

Topping that list was trying to guard him with a less-than-healthy Darko Milicic.

Another faux-pas might've been allowing the fans to make him feel at home with a big ovation early on.

It took a while, but Jefferson, grateful for the warm greeting, finally kicked his feet up on the sofa and helped himself in the pantry in the second half when he scored 21 of his 23 points.

Jefferson was particularly potent in the fourth quarter after the Jazz found themselves trailing the T-Wolves by a dozen to begin the period.

The 6-foot-10 big man hit 5-of-6 shots in the final period and scored 12 points to help spoil a fun night for the home crowd at the Target Center. It was the sixth time he's scored at least 23 points for Utah, and the 17th time he's pulled in at least nine rebounds."