|
Nathan Knight added career bests with 20 points and 11 rebounds
while Jaden McDaniels scored 17 for the Timberwolves, who
snapped a two-game skid.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 26 points and pulled down 10
rebounds. Payton Pritchard finished with 24 points, Al Horford
had 16 and Grant Williams scored 15 for the Celtics, who lost
their second straight game.
The Timberwolves opened the fourth quarter on a 14-2 run to go
ahead 88-81 with 8:12 to go. Nowell had a 3-pointer and a
driving dunk during the run, which transformed a five-point
deficit into a seven-point lead.
A 3-pointer by Horford brought Boston within 88-84 with 7:17
remaining, but less than a minute later, Nowell hit another
3-pointer to make it 91-84.
Minnesota held off a late comeback effort from Boston. McDaniels
gave the Timberwolves extra breathing room with a 3-pointer that
made it 100-90 with 3:36 left.
The Celtics led 79-74 at the end of the third quarter. Boston
led by as many as 12 points early in the period, but Minnesota
closed the quarter on a 9-3 run.
McDaniels converted a three-point play in the final minute of
the third quarter to narrow the gap.
Boston led 56-45 at halftime.
The Celtics closed the first half on a 13-0 run to take a
double-digit lead. Pritchard drained two 3-pointers during the
run, and Brown added one more.
Both teams played without multiple starters and key
contributors.
The Celtics did not have star forward Jayson Tatum, who was
placed in the NBA's COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Also
in the protocols were Josh Richardson, Justin Jackson, Dennis
Schroder, C.J. Miles, Bruno Fernando, Aaron Nesmith and Enes
Freedom. Marcus Smart did not play because of a hand injury.
Minnesota remained without its top three scorers: Karl-Anthony
Towns, Anthony Edwards and D'Angelo Russell. The three are in
health and safety protocols, as are teammates Jarred Vanderbilt,
Naz Reid, Taurean Prince and McKinley Wright IV.
--Field Level Media
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
