BSJ Game Report: Celtics 104, Timberwolves 102: Jaylen Brown's 35, Smart's late buckets, hold off Minnesota

Everything you need to know about the Celtics' win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out defending well but their shots were way off. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum paced the scoring, but they ended up tied at 23 after 1. They ramped up the defense and pace in the second, opening a 10-point lead, but the TWolves finally hit a couple of 3-pointers to close the gap. Both teams shot in the mid-30% range in the first half, but Anthony Edwards had 18 to keep them in it. The Celtics got aggressive in the third to build a 14-point lead, but the Wolves made it closer again with a late-quarter surge. Brown carried the team early in the fourth quarter and Marcus Smart made some clutch plays down the stretch and the Celtics survived.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Okay, not great … but …: This was a gritty game. Guys got tossed at the end. Guys went nose-to-nose. Neither team shot well so someone needed to make a different kind of play to win the game. Do I love how they finished the game? No. Do I like THAT they finished the game? Yes. This is one I’ll take at this point and I think it’s an actual building block. 

End-of-quarter execution was bad: That said, The Celtics were up 10 in the second quarter and ended it up 1 at the end. They were up 14 in the third and ended it up 6. They were up 9 with 6:08 left in the fourth and won by 2. End-of-quarter execution has been an emphasis by Joe Mazzulla and it wasn’t there tonight. 

Officiating was helpful: We’re going to have to acknowledge some of the calls that went Boston’s way in this one, including Grant Williams stealing the jump ball at the end with no call. Look, if we’re going to complain when it doesn't go Boston’s way, we have to accept games like this. 

Interesting rotations: Joe Mazzulla looked like a college coach running guys in and out of the game in the first half. I liked it and wanted more of it in the second half. The pace ratcheted way up and, even though the Celtics couldn't hit a damn thing, I loved the style. 

TURNING POINT

This might be the hardest turning point I’ve had to come up with. I’m going to go with Smart’s two shots, a floater and a layup, with a few minutes to go. The Wolves had cut the lead to 2 and those two Smart shots bailed Boston out in a big way. I think that's the spot where Boston did just enough to keep some distance between them and Minnesota.

FIVE UP

Jaylen Brown: He’s been on a heater lately, and his 35 points tonight were huge on a night when no one else could hit a damn thing. He had 15 points in the fourth quarter to really get the C’s through. He was the one constant against Houston and now Minnesota.

Derrick White: He just plays the game so well, even on nights where he’s not scoring a ton, it’s not a surprise he was a team-best +11 in this game.

Malcolm Brogdon: 12 points, 6 rebounds off the bench and once again getting to the rim at will.

Marcus Smart: Oooh I’m going to hear it about this. Sorry, though, I think Smart lands on the upside of this one today. He made some big defensive plays and bailed the Celtics out with those two drives late in the game. He got back to dishing with 5 assists and I’m sure his potential assists will be pretty high considering Boston’s missed shots. Yeah, I know he missed those 3-pointers … (A) They were wide open and (B) the drive and kick just kept landing in his hands.

One thing I will say about those shots is Smart was passing up a lot of those earlier in the year making secondary drives. I think this might be a Mazzulla thing. He often says bad things happen when you pass up the open shot, and I think Smart is listening to his coach on that. Personally, I’d rather he drive the ball like he had been doing and maybe a better shooter can get that shot. Still, Smart was a plus tonight. 

Blake Griffin: Just for the two charges he took in rapid succession. That was fun.

ONE UP/DOWN

Jayson Tatum: Aggressive, driving Tatum was great. Dribble dribble dribble shoot Tatum was terrible. He was 0-8 from 3, 4-8 from 2, and he got to the line 16 times. This 3 pointer he launched against Rudy Gobert was egregiously bad. 

via GIPHY

ESPECIALLY when Brown was WIIIIIIIIIIIIDE OPEN!

See the floor, Jayson. Brown should have maybe been more demonstrative about being open. But c’mon … this is part of the end-of-game execution. Tatum can’t get tunnel vision like this. This is losing basketball. 

ONE DOWN

Grant Williams: He needed to make the last two plays he made so he could salvage a bad night. He still seems hesitant and he made some poor decisions out there, like helping off Anthony Edwards early and giving him a wide-open look. Edwards was awesome in this game and early looks like the one he got aren’t helpful. 

Still, Williams made plays when it mattered, so I’m not going to get too down on him. 

“We need Grant. Grant has helped us win playoff games. We've seen it before,” Brown said of Williams. “  Grant right now is in a little bit of a run, and it's up to us to let him know he’s not by himself and he's not drowning. … Sometimes you can feel like you're on an island and it just gets worse and worse and worse the more you try. But that's why you got great teammates around to pick you up.”

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- It’s time to change how the Celtics end games. 

Enough is enough with these end-of-game swoons. I’m tired of it becoming the Jayson Tatum show down the stretch when Jaylen Brown has it going. And I’m tired of Brown fumbling away the few chances he gets down the stretch by either coughing up the ball or committing a charge. 

I think Brown gets overzealous when he gets the ball late because he knows it’s his only chance to score, which means he does too much. I think Tatum is getting tunnel vision because his shot is so off right now that he’s getting antsy about finding it. 

Enough with this. 

Run some damn offense, make the right reads, and close these games out. Where are the backdoor cuts when teams are being overly aggressive? Where are the slips when teams telegraph their switches? Where is the recognition that one guy is cooking so maybe set some screens for him and be aware of where he is on the floor? 

It’s tiresome. I’m fed up with it. I know I just wrote the whole “hey this is who they are so just accept it” piece, so this means I’m not even listening to myself, but that's how infuriating this is. 

It’s basic basketball. I want to get the Men In Black flashy thing and wipe their memories clean of their own individual egos so they can just play good basketball down the stretch. 

-Sorry bettors who had Boston -4.5

Mike Conley’s meaningless 3 cost some people some money. I bet a lot of people who just downloaded their betting apps now that gambling is legal in Massachusetts got a pretty rude awakening about how things can go. 

Next up: The Celtics are in Portland Friday night for a 10:00 tip against the Blazers.