The Celtics overcame the loss of Jaylen Brown (possible concussion) to cruise to a tough 117-109 road win over the shorthanded Timberwolves on Thursday night.
Kyrie Irving posted a team-high 23 points and eight assists in his return to the floor following a one-game absence (sore left knee) to lead another balanced offensive performance from the Celtics lineup. Six different players scored in double figures, which included big contributions from the bench unit in Marcus Morris (17 points) and Terry Rozier (13 points).
Brown left the game in the third quarter after suffering a scary fall on his back after a spectacular dunk in transition. The 21-year-old was taken to an area hospital after the game and is in concussion protocol.
The Celtics have won six of their last seven games since the All-Star break and clinched a playoff spot with the win.
GAME: No. 66 of 82
WHO: Celtics (45-20) vs. Bulls (38-28)
WHEN: 8:00 EST
WHERE: Target Center
RADIO: 100.7 WZLX
TV: TNT
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Starting Lineups:
Celtics
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Wolves
PG: Jeff Teague
SG: Andrew Wiggins
SF: Nemanja Bjelica
PF: Taj Gibson
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Second Half Notes
Second Quarter Notes
- A little sluggishness from the second unit plus Tatum early on D with Greg Monroe coming in for Daniel Theis
- Towns got a couple easy looks against Monroe in the midrange at that point.
- Things took a turn though once Horford returned to the game to handle Towns. The C's offense started attacking and punishing the Wolves in transition once Taj Gibson went out, with Jayson Tatum making a couple buckets around the rim.
- Marcus Smart delivered maybe the best two-play offensive sequence of his career with a beautiful spin move in the post around Jamal Crawford followed by a putback jam to open up a 14-point lead. The offense quickly made up for him bricking his first three 3s of the game.
- The lead started to dissipate however once Kyrie Irving got into the game thanks to a 7-0 Wolves run. Again, spotty transition defense led to trouble for the C's bigs with Baynes back in the game. The plug was pulled on him quickly.
- Going back to the Irving/Smart/Brown/Morris/Horford lineup worked in the first quarter to build the lead and the trend continued at the end of the second quarter with a 9-0 run to push the lead back up to 14. The switchability on defense and mobility paid significant dividends against this Wolves team.
- A pair of high powered offense going head-to-head early in this one. The C's ball movement was superb early on with eight assists on their first 12 field goals of the night.
- Kyrie Irving showed no signs of knee troubles, knocking down three of his first six shots, including a couple from downtown.
- The Celtics' defense struggled a bit early in transition with the starters on the floor. A lack of speed in the frontcourt (with Tatum and Baynes) generally leads to good looks for teams pushing the ball and that was case with Minnesota.
- Bjelica was the shooter that made the C's pay early in those spots (3-of-3 from 3-point range)
- Stevens went away from the traditionally big lineup with Smart and Morris getting an early nod and it paid dividends immediately on both ends.
- Morris got red hot with his shooting (nine straight points towards end of quarter) while Smart's defensive discipline reduced the number of Wolves open looks.
- Both teams combined to shoot 58 percent from the field but the C's forced the Wolves into six turnovers early which allowed them to escape frame with seven-point lead.
- Nice job by Al Horford goading Karl-Anthony Towns into an offensive foul in the post by being physical with him.
- C's relying on jumpers early (only six of 35 points in the paint).
- Kyrie Irving is expected to return to the lineup after a one-game absence due to a sore left knee. He took part in 75 percent of Celtics' practice on Wednesday and told reporters "I'm in,' when asked about his status.
- Derrick Rose signed with the Timberwolves on Thursday after being waived by the Jazz after the trade deadline. The former All-Star point guard played just 16 games for Cleveland this season, averaging 9.8 points and 1.6 assists per game. He'll be reunited with his former Bulls coach in Minnesota and could see time off the bench in place of Tyus Jones or Jamal Crawford.
- The Celtics' starting five matches up quite nicely with the Wolves in the wake of the Jimmy Butler injury. Bjelica is oversized for the small forward spot at 6-foot-10, but Tatum has enough length to keep that from being a big advantage. Meanwhile, the 20-year-old rookie should use his speed and shot creation regularly against Bjelica in the spot.
- The Celtics are 5-1 since the All-Star break and have the second-best offense in the league over that span with an offensive rating more than 10 points above their season average.