On Wednesday night, Jayson Tatum
delivered a signature performance to steer the Boston Celtics past
the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-120, in a titanic clash between the
No. 1 seeds in each conference.
Tatum was magnificent, pouring
in 12 of the Celtics’ 16 points in overtime en route to a
season-high 45 points. He shot 13-of-26 from the field, 6-of-11
from three and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line as Boston remained
unbeaten at home (18-0)
Jaylen Brown added 35 points and
11 rebounds for Boston, who played without starting center Kristaps
Porzingis due to a right knee contusion.
This was the second-straight
ovetime game between these two teams, following a 114-109 Wolves
win in Minnesota on Nov. 6.
Entering this game, the 28-win
Celtics were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the
26-win Timberwolves were the No. 1 seed in the Western
Conference.
Karl-Anthony Towns had a valiant
effort for an undermanned Wolves team that was playing on the
second night of a road back-to-back following yesterday’s win at
the Orlando Magic. They were without Rudy Gobert (left hip
soreness) and Mike Conley (rest).
Towns registered 25 points and
13 rebounds as he started at the 5 with Gobert’s absence, but star
teammate Anthony Edwards committed two crucial turnovers in
OT.
Edwards had a decent 29-point
game, but this was overshadowed by his two costly mistakes that
flipped the momentum to Boston’s favor.
Boston is now 29-8, which is the
best record in the NBA. Minnesota drops to 26-11, with only a
half-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11) and Denver
Nuggets (26-12).
