The Timberwolves came into this game with the Celtics fresh off a big win in Atlanta and were playing a Celtics team pissed at their loss to the Rockets. Today the Timberwolves fans got some good news heading into the game as the team announced that Karl-Anthony Towns will be back in the coming weeks. The Celtics also got some good news with Robert Williams returning within the next few games. This was a great game as both teams could execute at a high level in this highly anticipated game.
The Celtics and Timberwolves came out swinging and this game started off with some great offense. Throughout the game, it started to get chippy early as Rudy Gobert got a little too aggressive in the paint toward both Derrick White & Jaylen Brown. Rudy Gobert was playing like the beast he is but the Celtics players weren’t phased or backing down from the big man. The game was neck and neck even with the chippiness so it made for some good offensive plays with aggression. Speaking of that aggression Jayson Tatum posterized Rudy Gobert on an And-1 which turned into a flagrant 1 foul. That was the turning point in the game as the Celtics got in Rudy’s face and it got their offense going. The Timberwolves were able to slow down Jayson Tatum as he finished with 22 points 14 of which came from the free-throw line. The Timberwolves were fouling Tatum and his getting to the line with ease kept the Celtics in this game. Jaylen Brown took over the game in the second half especially in the 4th as he scored 15 points in that quarter alone and finished with 35 points. Minnesota did a good job defending tonight but Brown made some tough shots that were contested.
Another reason why the Celtics were able to do so much on the offensive end is that Jaden McDaniels was in foul trouble the whole game. Since the All-Star break, McDaniels has made a huge difference in every game including tonight. With McDaniels in foul trouble, it allowed Brown and Tatum to roam a lot more than Coach Finch wanted them to. McDaniels has got better on the offensive end as well because tonight he was able to hit some big shots. Jaden finished the game with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. Anthony Edwards played one of his most complete games on both ends of the floor as the Celtics couldn’t do anything with him on the offensive end. The Celtics were doubling Edwards trying to make other players on the Timberwolves beat them and it worked. Anthony Edwards wasn’t able to close the game the way he wanted but he was able to finish with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists. The Wolves only had 5 players in double figures tonight and to beat a team like the Celtics you need people to contribute from all over the stat sheet. The Wolves made this game interesting and were able to take Tatum out of the game but let Brown get too comfortable within the flow of the offense. This is a game they could of won but they will put it behind them as they look to bounce back against the Bulls on Friday in Chicago.
Photo Credit: (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
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