GAME: No. 42 of 82
WHO: Celtics (31-10) vs. Wolves (24-15)
WHEN: 7:00 EST
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 the Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston, ESPN
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Projected Starting Lineups:
Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Inactive list: Gordon Hayward and Marcus Morris (knee rehab) are out.
Wolves:
PG: Tyus Jones
SG: Jimmy Butler
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Taj Gibson
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Inactive list: Jeff Teague (knee) is out.
Third Quarter Notes
- A couple of early switches for both coaches in their attempts to break through offensively. Aaron Brooks got the call for Tyus Jones early while Daniel Theis came in for Aron Baynes two minutes later to help open the paint more.
- Kyrie Irving continued to spend a decent amount of time guarding Jimmy Butler and it didn't go that well.
- Lots of open looks for Jaylen Brown from downtown that weren't going down, but all of the starters were struggling.
- C's started the quarter 2-of-14 from the field, which featured wide open misses from Tatum, Brown, and Horford from beyond the arc.
- The offensive tide slowly began to shift once Marcus Smart re-entered the game as he was the only player who didn't looked worn out from staying out all night shoveling a foot of snow.
First Half Notes
- Surprisingly flat start for two of the better teams in the NBA offensively. Andrew Wiggins and Jaylen Brown were the biggest liabilities for both sides, starting the game a collective 0-of-11 from the field.
- Just not a lot of rhythm for either side in terms of ball movement and polished finishes. The Celtics weren't doing a lot of attacking either, drawing just one foul in the first quarter alone.
- Al Horford did a nice job for the Celtics with his defensive versatility early, handling everyone from Jimmy Butler to Karl Anthony-Towns in isolation situations with success.
- Aron Baynes had a couple nice chances at some putbacks but failed to make anything of tehm. He was 2-of-6 in the quarter, with all of those attempts coming in the paint.
- Guerschon Yabusele got a quick stint at the end of the quarter at power forward, but was pulled quickly once the Wolves went small.
- A couple of ugly defensive mistakes at the end of the quarter by Terry Rozier guarding Jamal Crawford, leading the sharpshooter open with some unnecessary help.
- Marcus Smart was only player with a function jump shot early, hitting a pair from midrange.
- Brad Stevens was not happy with the officiating in the second quarter and it was really hard to blame him. Wolves were only whistled for two foul in the first 22 minutes of the game compared to 10 for the Celtics. Stevens delivered a mock cheer when the Wolves were whistled for their second foul of the night.
- Wiggins and Jimmy Butler combined to start the game 0-of-11 from the field before Butler sank a jumper with three minutes left in the frame.
- Towns really was the only Wolves player to get his rhythm going in the half, finish with 14 points and 13 rebounds. C's did a nice job on his first shot attempts but he got some easy opportunities.
- Al Horford left the game midway through the second quarter and did not return after heading to the locker room. No word yet on his injury status.
- Both teams shot below 20 percent from 3-point range in the first half.
Pregame Notes
- With the Celtics playing the first half of a back-to-back, Marcus Morris will sit out tonight so he can suit up for Saturday's game against Brooklyn. Aron Baynes will be back in the starting five for tonight, which suits Boston well against the Wolves traditional front line. "Marcus Morris is out tonight," Stevens explained. "The same plan that he’s been on since Christmas where he was basically going to sit for two days before playing again. So he’ll be on the trip and the expectation is that he will play tomorrow. The way our schedule is set up after Christmas it will be two instances where that wasn’t possible to play: Charlotte at Charlotte, and tonight. So that’s kind of been in his long-term recovery plan."
- The Wolves have not won a game at the TD Garden since 2005.
- Brad Stevens on Jayson Tatum Rookie of the Month award: "Sweet. I sent him a text that there’s a lot of things that can derail forward progress, and he earned that. At the end of the day though it’s continuing to do all the great things he’s doing, because he’s consistent, and that’s why he got it, because he’s played well and he’s consistent. It’s hard to do that at any age, but he’s 19 so there’s a great opportunity now to respond to that nice reward."