Celtics extend streak against Timberwolves, who haven’t won in Boston since they had KG
The Celtics have won 18 home games in a row against the Timberwolves.
With Sunday afternoon’s close 107-105 victory over the Timberwolves, the Celtics have beaten Minnesota 18 times in a row at TD Garden.
Boston withstood a valiant comeback attempt from the Timberwolves, who trailed by as many as 19 points. Rudy Gobert pulled down 20 rebounds, and Anthony Edwards chipped in 28 points.
Jaylen Brown had the hot hand early, knocking down his first five 3-point attempts of the game. He also was enough of a deterrent on the final play of the game to keep Edwards from scoring on his drive to the hoop.
Edwards swung the ball to Jaden McDaniels in the corner. McDaniels passed it to Nas Reid at the top of the key, and Reid’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer clanged off the top of the rim.
“They ran that same play out of bounds three or four times, so I pre-switched with JT because they wanted to get me off of Ant-man,” Brown said. “So, I pre-switched, swtiched right to him so I was on the ball. He’s good going to his left-hand so I just wanted to crowd him a little bit, make it tough for him, and waste some time.”
“If he did go up to score, I was going to be able to challenge it at the time,” Brown added. “He kicked it out. I’m not sure if Reid got it off, but it was a good defensive posession.
Minnesota hasn’t beaten the Celtics in Boston since March 6th, 2005.
Kevin Garnett, who eventually won a title with the Celtics, led the Timberwolves to a two-point victory in that game. He finished one assist short of a triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. Ricky Davis was the Celtics’ leading scorer with 22 points.
Celtics assistant coach Sam Cassell was a point guard on Minnesota’s roster at the time. Legendary Celtics forward Kevin McHale was Minnesota’s head coach during that season.
Since that night in 2005, the Celtics have found a way to beat Minnesota in a number of close games at the Garden. They triumphed in overtime last January and in April of 2021. Four of the last five Celtics-Wolves games at TD Garden have been decided by 12-points or less.
The Timberwolves beat the Celtics the last time they met in Minnesota last November. They’ll meet again at the Target Center on Jan. 2.
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