Celtics begin the stretch run with a 127-117 win over Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — They came back from places like Chicago, the Bahamas and Washington, D.C., and got off to a predictable straggle.

But with Kemba Walker missing this one with a sore left knee, and Karl-Anthony Towns also scratched with a broken wrist, the Celtics started their playoff stretch run with a 127-117 win over Minnesota.

Four Celtics scored 25 points or more, led by a 29-point performance from Jayson Tatum and a career 25-point, 16-rebound night from Daniel Theis.

The Celtics, off to a fresh two-game win streak, thus began the weakest link in a tough four-city western road trip on the upswing, and withstood a 27-point night by Malik Beasley.

Brown hit two free throws with 4:42 left for a 114-109 lead, and fouled out on the next possession. But Theis scored his 21st point, and the next time down Tatum sent the Timberwolves into a huddle with a deep 3-pointer for a 119-111 Celtics lead.

After several blanks on both sides, Gordon Hayward fed Theis for a dunk — and a career-high 23rd point — and a 121-111 lead with 2:17 left.

Tatum and Theis followed with two free throws each to put away a hard night.

Hayward’s late jumper gave the Celtics a 95-88 lead at the end of the third, with the forward shooting 11-for-15 for his 24 points over that stretch. Tatum had followed up an 18-point second quarter with scoreless third, but opened the fourth with a wild, double-teamed 3-pointer for a 98-88 Celtics lead.

But Jordan McLaughlin didn’t just answer with a 3-pointer. The backup T-Wolves point guard triggered a 10-2 run that he also capped with a 3-pointer that cut the Celtics edge to 100-98.

Brown came out of the ensuing timeout with back-to-back hoops, including a full-court drive for a 104-98 lead that Beasley immediately cut into with a 3-pointer.

Minnesota ran off five points, with Marcus Smart missing twice from the line. Though Hayward hit his free throws 20 seconds later, Beasley reciprocated. But Theis also hit twice off an offensive board — his 13th overall rebound — for a 108-105 lead with 6:32 left.

The Celtics finally carved out some space when Hayward drained a deep three with six minutes left, and Brown, fouled grabbing a defensive board, hit one of two, this time for a 112-107 edge.

Though Brown was also called for a clear path foul on Josh Okogie after the latter picked off a pass, the call was overturned on video review. Okogie had to settle for two free throws.

Brown was then fouled by Naz Reid during a drive and this time hit twice for a five-point lead.

Beasley capped off a 16-point second quarter by hitting a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that cut the Celtics lead to 61-53.

Tatum, with an 18-point, 6-for-11 first half, had been equally hot. Theis, who had combined with Enes Kanter for 15 first half rebounds, put together a one-man 5-0 run for a new peak lead (13) at 68-55.

But the Timberwolves responded with their strongest move of the night — a 12-2 run that included a pair of Reid 3-pointers, cutting the Celtics lead to 72-70.

A Theis tip-dunk, followed by a Hayward 3-pointer, ended that. And when Hayward dunked, the Celtics had pushed their lead back up to 79-72.

In a contentious stretch that would include multiple trips to the line on both sides, the Celtics slipped out of the third with a 95-88 lead, courtesy of a late Hayward jumper.

Russell scored eight of the first 15 Minnesota points on 3-4 shooting, and the Celtics got a similar burst from Tatum in the early going.

But Hayward, with three mid-range jumpers and some spectacular playmaking from Smart (behind the back bounce pass to Theis off the pick-and-roll) helped the Celtics nudge ahead with a 24-20 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The Celtics then opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run, including four straight points from Brad Wanamaker, and over the next minute Tatum added a step-back and a deep three, the latter for a 35-25 lead.

Beasley, in the process of scoring seven straight Timberwolves points, cut the Celtics edge to 37-32. The Celtics retorted with a 7-0 run, with Brown scoring the last five points for a peak (12-point) lead at 46-34.

That margin essentially held up until Beasley, capping off an 18-point quarter, buried a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that cut the Celtics lead to 61-53.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/37UDik0