BSJ Game Report: Celtics 107, Timberwolves 105 - Brown, Tatum combine for 55 to hold off Wolves

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown started out blistering hot, hitting his first five 3-pointers, but then the whole team went cold and Boston trailed by three after one. The C’s started the second on an 8-0 run and built a lead as big as 12, but a late Wolves run cut it to three at halftime. Jayson Tatum’s 11 helped build the lead to 19 but Anthony Edwards helped make it 11 heading into the fourth. Derrick White made big plays throughout what became a back-and-forth shootout, which Boston barely won. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Deep ball the difference: The Celtics were 18-45 (40%) from 3 through the first three quarters while Minnesota was 9-29 (31%) and Boston had an 11-point lead. Minnesota shot 6-12 in the fourth while Boston was 3-11, and whaddya know, Minnesota nearly pulled off the big comeback. 

- Jaylen Brown’s shooting: He hit his first five 3-pointers, all in a row to start the first quarter and score Boston’s first 15 points. He was 2-5 the rest of the way, so he cooled off a little, but he hit a huge one late in the fourth to put the game away. He came into the game shooting 28.4% from 3 this season and finished it at 32.7%.

“I feel like I was due for a lot of makes,” Brown said after the win. Yes, he certainly was.

- Derrick White’s dependability: It just always feels like he’s doing something important when the Celtics need someone to make a play. 

“Sometimes it's handling, sometimes it's screening, sometimes it's defense,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Just makes big-time plays. So I think he has a tendency to do that, but I think that's really the identity of our team, those guys, where people can make different type of plays at different times, and you can just have that trust and reliability.”

TURNING POINT 

White tracked down an ambitious lead pass from Tatum, tiptoed his way back under control, and swung the ball where it eventually found Brown for 3. It was Boston’s 107th point, which they needed as the Wolves kept hitting shots.

THINGS I LIKED

- Jaylen Brown (and his self-awareness): He came out hot, hit the biggest shot of the game, and ended up defending Edwards on the last possession, forcing him to give the ball up. Yes, he hit his first five shots, and yes, he put up a heat check, but he also passed on some he could have taken. 

“I went to him, and he was like ‘yeah, I just got to make sure we get our rhythm back as a team,’” Joe Mazzulla said. “It's great to have guys like him that you could do that.”

It’s just a nice thing to see from a star going like he was early on. He finished with 29 points on 10-18 shooting. 

- Jayson Tatum: A game after going 0-10 from 3, he came in without any fear of missing. 

“I think earlier in my career, it would have bothered me a lot more,” Tatum said. “But you just understand there's so much more basketball to be played, so many games, that, you know, in those moments, you feel like you're the only person missing shots. Every great player, every great shooter has went through slumps where they weren't shooting great or, or had nights where they couldn't hit shots. They always bounce back.”

He finished 5-12 (41.7%) and finished with 26 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

- Al Horford: He was animated after the Celtics won this game. He seemed to really want this win. Not his best shooting night, but he played some really good defense. 

- Xavier Tillman: A nice contribution in the middle of the game to help the Celtics build a lead. I wasn’t sure this would be a Neemias Queta game, but I thought he might get some minutes with Luke Kornet being a late scratch. Instead, Mazzulla went with Tillman. 

“Just more switching,” Mazzulla said. “It's key that those guys constantly stay ready and they all got to play their part, and they do a good job of that.”

- Derrick White: You know why.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE

- Bad finishes: They had bad finishes to the second and fourth quarters. They made up for each, starting the third quarter with a 14-2 run and then shutting down TWolves' final possession. I understand teams are going to make runs, and I’ll attribute the fourth quarter more to that than simply letting up. But the run going into halftime was mostly Boston’s own fault, and in either case, there is room for improvement.

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The quest for balance continues.

This Celtics team against Rudy Gobert is a recipe for a lot of 3-pointers, and they took 56 of them in this game. And, as usual, I’m not too worried that Boston fired up 56 3-pointers. What I am looking for, though, is a little bit more of the balance that I talked about after the Wizards game. 

And I think this is where finishing the quarters comes into play. I think a little bit more punishing teams inside in those final moments will go a long way. Once again, the Celtics hit Tatum and Brown for some nice post ups in the fourth as they held onto their lead. I’d like to see that earlier in the game, though. 

- Shout out to the crowd

I'm not pandering here. I enjoyed two things about the crowd in this one. 

1) They knew right away Brown was on a heater. He hit two in a row and then people started standing when he touched the ball for the third one. They knew what they were seeing immediately and were bringing the right energy for that moment. It was really cool to see everyone picking up on this the way they did. 

2) They cheered Ray Allen in a big way. He was just here on his own and there wasn't a scintilla of animosity towards him. I never liked the way he was shunned the first time around. He left as a free agent after Danny Ainge had told him he was traded only to have it fall through at the last minute. I know it didn't end great for him here but I thought the hate was over the top. I'm thrilled that he is back in Boston's good graces. That was really cool to see.

Next up: The Celtics host the Clippers for a back-to-back tomorrow night