National Basketball Association
Boston 104, Minnesota 102
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
#64 Justin Van Duyne, #11 Derrick Collins, #45 Brian Forte
Attendance:
17136
By Field Level Media
Jaylen Brown tossed in a game-high 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Boston Celtics extended the Minnesota Timberwolves' home losing streak to five games by posting a 104-102 victory on Wednesday in Minneapolis.
Minnesota (35-35) trailed 101-99 after two Rudy Gobert free throws with 1:09 remaining, but Jayson Tatum extended Boston's lead to 104-99 by making three free throws with 1.7 seconds to play. Minnesota's Mike Conley tossed in a 3-pointer as time expired.
Tatum scored 22 points, 14 of them coming at the free-throw line. Tatum was 4 of 16 from the field and missed each of his eight 3-point attempts.
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 28 points and 10 rebounds. Brown and Edwards each made five 3-pointers.
Minnesota received 15-point performances from Gobert, Kyle Anderson and Naz Reid.
It was 23-23 after one quarter, and, despite shooting 15 of 46 (32.6 percent) from the floor in the first 24 minutes, the Celtics (48-22) had a 44-43 lead at halftime. Boston had a 36-26 lead following a Brown 3-pointer with 5:59 left in the second quarter.
Edwards led all scorers in the first half with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.
Boston stretched its lead to 14 points when Brown made a free throw that made it a 71-57 game with 5:50 left in the third, and matched that lead when a Grant Williams layup put the Celtics up 73-59 with 4:13 remaining in the quarter.
Minnesota responded with a 12-2 run, however, and trailed 75-71 after a Reid 3-pointer with 1:04 left in the quarter. The Celtics had a 77-71 advantage entering the fourth.
It was the second game between the teams this season. The Celtics won the first matchup 121-109 on Dec. 23. Brown led the Celtics with 36 points in the win. Edwards scored a team-high 30 points for the Timberwolves.
Boston has won 26 of its last 31 games against Minnesota.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Boston |
|
Minnesota |
|
Jaylen Brown 35 |
Scoring |
Anthony Edwards 28 |
|
Al Horford 5 |
Assists |
Kyle Anderson 8 |
|
Jayson Tatum 12 |
Rebounds |
Anthony Edwards 10 |
|
Jayson Tatum 14 |
Free Throws Made |
Naz Reid 6 |
|
Marcus Smart 2 |
Steals |
Rudy Gobert 1 |
|
Al Horford 2 |
Blocks |
Kyle Anderson 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Boston
|
104 |
40.5 |
12-40 |
24-30 |
20 |
44 |
5 |
7 |
11 |
| Minnesota
|
102 |
44.0 |
12-36 |
16-22 |
27 |
46 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
Upcoming Games
-
Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .486 after a win and .514 after a loss.
-
Boston will play their next game on the road against Portland. The Celtics have a W/L % of .723 after a win and .609 after a loss.