Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 127-117 win over the Wolves with BSJ insight and analysis
Box Score
HEADLINES
Four Celtics score 25+ points in offensive shootout: The Celtics have leaned on their starters all year long and that remained the case again even with Kemba Walker sidelined. Four different Celtics scored 25 points or more in this one, carrying the visitors to a 127-117 win against the Wolves on Friday night. Gordon Hayward led the way with 29 points but the story of the night was Daniel Theis, who piled up a career-high with 25 points and 16 rebounds in the victory to improve Boston to 12-2 in their last 14 games. Jayson Tatum (28 points, 11 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (25 points, 8 rebounds) also pitched in with big nights as the C’s started off their west coast swing on a winning note. It was the first time since 1960 that four different Celtics scored 25 points or more in a single game. The road gets much tougher on Sunday afternoon with the Lakers looming in a nationally televised showdown.
Daniel Theis picks perfect timing for career night: The German big man has consistently earned more minutes in the middle this season when he has managed to stay out of foul trouble and he made the most of his big outing against a Wolves team that didn’t play much defense. Despite an early benching, Theis put on an efficient show with a career-high 25 points and 15 rebounds (6 offensive) on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the FT line. With the Wolves getting a big scoring night themselves from all five starters (everyone was in double figures) the added production from Theis with Walker sidelined proved to be critical on a night the C’s defense was lackluster for the final three quarters (97 points allowed).
TURNING POINT
The visitors broke open a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run, giving Boston a double-digit lead as Theis hit his career-high with 25 points. The hosts got no closer than eight points in the final two minutes of the contest after the outburst.
THREE UP
Tatum: The All-Star continues his hot streak despite a week off at the All-Star Break, scoring a game-high 18 points in the first half on 6-of-11 shooting from the field on his way to 28 on the night. He has now scored in double figures for 42 consecutive games this season.
Gordon Hayward in the midrange: The veteran found his sweet spots on the floor in the first half plenty, knocking down four of his first five jumpers from midrange and then poured it on the second half with 20 of his 29 points coming after intermission. It was his second-highest point total of the year.
Theis: A career-night with 25 points and 16 rebounds and it came in only 28 minutes as the German center continues to be one of the most efficient Celtics on the floor all year long when he gets extended chances.
TWO DOWN
Defending Malik Beasley: The Celtics took their focus off Minnesota’s second-best scoring option in the second quarter with Towns sidelined as he erupted for 16 points in the frame on 6-of-8 shooting from the field with Jaylen Brown among others leaving him open for perimeter looks.
Bench production: They were down a man with Marcus Smart inserted into the starting five but 10 points on 2-of-16 shooting from the field is pretty horrendous considering the competition. Brad Stevens is going to need more from this group on nights the starting five is putting together career night collectively.
TOP PLAY
This @jetblue play of the game was just filthy ? pic.twitter.com/2a1Rhe9cDs
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 22, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
Romeo Langford keeps earning more trust on the defensive end: The rookie has been in and out of the rotation for much of the past month but after a solid 15 minutes in this one, he got the nod over Brad Wanamaker for crunch time minutes once Jaylen Brown fouled out of the game with four minutes remaining. Langford didn’t do anything impressive in his box score for this one (2 points, 1 rebound, 4 fouls in 19 minutes) but he continues to show good discipline on the defensive end. He reads plays well for a rookie and doesn’t make a lot of positional mistakes that have plagued other young players on this roster in recent years. Combine those skills with his size/reach and it’s clear that Langford is moving towards the top of the bench depth chart for defensive wings. That’s not going to earn him minutes every night but should earn him the call plenty more down the stretch when the Celtics are struggling against teams that want to stretch the floor.
It might make sense to rest Kemba for awhile if the starters can mesh like this: There is no doubt that an offensive performance like this can be overrated because of the opponent (Minnesota wasn’t interested in playing much defense) but it was an encouraging sign to see the Celtics improve to 7-2 on the year without their All-Star point guard. A lot of those matchups have come against inferior opponents but after a knee drainage this week, the goal now for the training staff has to be maximizing Walker for the postseason. A challenging schedule for the next few weeks is not conducive to that and also helping Boston keep pace for the No. 2 seed but it’s evident right now that this starting group has plenty of chemistry together even without the point guard. With Walker struggling with his shot lately even when he’s been active, the focus now should be getting Walker right rather than putting a band-aid on a problem that has continuously popped up all season long.
