It was a wild ending to a memorable night - even though the guy everyone came to see was unable to play because of an injury.
The Timberwolves had the ball with the scored tied 86-86 with 28 seconds left. Marko Jaric missed a 3-pointer and teammate Craig Smith rebounded the ball and tried to kick it back out.
But Ray Allen stepped in front and stole the pass and raced the other way with the clock ticking down. A frantic scramble under the basket ended with Powe putting back a miss just before the buzzer sounded.
The play was reviewed and confirmed that Powe, who had 16 points on 8-for-10 shooting and eight rebounds, just beat the horn.
Paul Pierce had 18 points and six assists and Allen scored 17 for the Celtics, who were playing their sixth straight game without Garnett, out with an abdominal strain.
Al Jefferson scored 10 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and Smith had 16 points, seven rebounds and that one costly turnover for the Wolves.
It was a heart-breaking loss for the young Timberwolves, who watched their home crowd give Garnett a rousing ovation before the game and desperately wanted to give them something else to cheer about.
Garnett was first injured against the Wolves in Boston two weeks ago, but this one had to be the toughest one yet for the intense star to miss.
For 12 years, Garnett served as the face of the franchise, lighting up the Twin Cities with his bright smile and breath-taking play. When the Timberwolves decided to rebuild this summer, they shipped the beloved KG to Boston for Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and two first-round picks.
It's been a trying year without No. 21 around, and the Target Center was a rare sellout on Friday night in anticipation of Garnett's return.
Thousands were disappointed when was inactive, but the Wolves introduced him before the game to give the fans one more chance to cheer him.
