Celtics-Wolves recap: Tatum’s dominant effort lifts C’s to 118-115 win
Jayson Tatum’s MVP-caliber performance helped Boston begin its road trip with a win.
The Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves usually give fans a great show when they square off, and Thursday night’s game at Target Center continued that trend.
The Celtics had multiple double-digit leads in the second half, but the T-Wolves didn’t go away, and they had a chance to force overtime with 3.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Anthony Edwards’ potential game-tying 3-pointer hit the rim and bounced out, giving Boston a 118-115 win to begin their tough four-game Western Conference road trip.
Jayson Tatum gave an MVP-caliber performance with 33 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals. He scored 16 points in the third quarter. Derrick White poured in 26 points for Boston, including two clutch 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics’ road trip resumes Friday against the Houston Rockets.
Check out our live blog below for a recap of Celtics-Timberwolves.
FINAL: Celtics win 118-115
David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points in an excellent performance for the C’s.
The Celtics needed an MVP performance by Jayson Tatum to beat a very good Minnesota Timberwolves team and begin their four-game road trip, and the superstar forward delivered.
Tatum scored a game-high 33 points with nine assists, eight rebounds and three steals in 38 minutes as the C’s earned a 118-115 win at Target Center. He has tallied eight or more rebounds in 19 straight games, which is the second-longest active streak in the NBA.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards struggled mightily in this game, scoring just 15 points on 5-for-16 shooting (2-for-9 from 3-point range). He had a chance to tie the score and force overtime with 3.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but his 3-point attempt hit the rim and bounced out.
How did the T-Wolves have a chance to tie this game in the final seconds despite Edwards’ lackluster outing
Exclusive: Derrick White 1-on-1 postgame interview with Abby Chin
Abby Chin caught up with Derrick White after the Celtics 118-115 win against the Timberwolves, and he talked about the Celtics’ mindset starting a tough, 4-game road trip.
NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin interviewed Celtics guard Derrick White after the win and asked him about his clutch performance, Jayson Tatum’s scoring, defending Anthony Edwards and more.
Check it out in the video player above.
JAN 29:49 PM EST
Edwards unable to force OT
Score: 118-115 Celtics, 0:00
Anthony Edwards’ 3-point attempt to force overtime missed and the Celtics escape with a victory.
JAN 29:46 PM EST
T-Wolves have chance to tie
Score: 118-115 Celtics, 3.1 seconds left in fourth quarter
Jayson Tatum missed a step-back 2-point shot and the T-Wolves got the rebound. The Timberwolves called timeout, so they will inbound the ball at halfcourt needing a 3-pointer to force overtime.
JAN 29:44 PM EST
It’s winning time
Score: 118-115 Celtics, 21.1 seconds left in fourth quarter
The Celtics have the ball with 21.1 seconds remaining.
JAN 29:42 PM EST
Derrick White grows Celtics’ lead with back-to-back 3s
Score: 118-110 Celtics, 2:08 left in fourth quarter
Derrick White has put the C’s up by eight points with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. The second 3-pointer banked off the glass. White is now Boston’s second-leading scorer with 26 points.
JAN 29:33 PM EST
Celtics regain the lead
Score: 105-100 Celtics, 5:47 left in fourth quarter
Neemias Queta has put the Celtics up five on a dunk, which was set up by a nice pass from Jayson Tatum. The T-Wolves double-teamed Tatum and he found the open man.
Tatum has 31 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. It’s been an MVP-caliber performance from Tatum with Jaylen Brown unavailable due to injury.
Donte DiVincenzo ties the game
Score: 94-94, 9:15 left in fourth quarter
The Celtics have not survived the first couple minutes of the fourth quarter with Jayson Tatum on the bench. T-Wolves guard Donte DiVincenzo just hit a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to tie the score at 94-94. The C’s were up by 10 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.
Minnesota has outscored Boston 9-3 to start the fourth quarter.
JAN 29:14 PM EST
End of third quarter: Celtics lead 91-85
The Timberwolves trimmed the lead to five, and then Celtics went back up by double-digits thanks to Jayson Tatum. The C’s superstar scored 16 points in the quarter, including 12 in the final 4:05.
But a quick five-point burst by the T-Wolves in the final 42 seconds of the quarter has given Minnesota a chance entering the fourth.
The Celtics have given up 34 or more points in two of the first three quarters. Boston’s defense will determine the outcome of this game.
We’re in store for another exciting finish between these two teams.
Celtics withstand T-Wolves’ charge
Score: 79-71, 4:05 left in third quarter
The Timberwolves started the third quarter down 11, but they trimmed the Celtics’ lead to 70-65 with 6:32 left to play. But the C’s hit back with a 3-pointer by Sam Hauser and two buckets by Jayson Tatum.
Tatum is on triple-double watch with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists. He also has three steals.
The Celtics’ bench is also outscoring the Timberwolves’ bench 18-10, which is huge for Boston considering Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis are both out due to injury.
JAN 28:38 PM EST
Halftime: Celtics lead 62-51
The Celtics dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Timberwolves 34-16. A 15-4 run helped put the C’s up by double-digits, and they went into halftime with an 11-point advantage.
Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser lead the Celtics with 12 points each. Neemias Queta gave the Celtics some great minutes off the bench with six points, three rebounds and one steal. Payton Pritchard also scored nine points off the bench.
The Celtics started out 1-for-7 from 3-point range, but they made 12 of their next 24 attempts to close out the first half.
Julius Randle leads the T-Wolves with 15 points. Boston’s defense has done an excellent job frustrating T-Wolves superstar Anthony Edwards, who has nine points on 3-for-10 shooting (1-for-6 on 3-pointers).
JAN 28:25 PM EST
Tatum helps Celtics increase lead
Score: 56-47 Celtics, 2:43 left in second quarter
The Celtics have their largest lead of the game, and it’s the result of a 15-4 run over a 4:41 span. The Celtics have hit four of their last five attempts from beyond the arc, including a couple 3-pointers from Jayson Tatum.
Boston is now shooting 13-for-31 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range. Tatum and Sam Hauser are leading the way with 12 points apiece.
Boston has outscored Minnesota 28-12 in the quarter so far.
Sam Hauser is heating up
Score: 41-41, 8:54 left in second quarter
Sam Hauser has made three 3-pointers in the first three and a half minutes of the second quarter, and the Timberwolves’ lead has been erased as a result. Hauser is now 4-for-6 from 3-point range in the game.
JAN 28:06 PM EST
End of first quarter: 35-28 Timberwolves
The Timberwolves shot 10-for-18 from the floor (7-for-12 from 3-point range) and hit all eight of their free throw attempts to take a seven-point lead into the second quarter. Minnesota’s 35 points are a season-high in the first quarter.
T-Wolves forward Julius Randle leads all players in scoring with 10 points, along with two rebounds and two assists.
The Celtics attempted 19 shots from 3-point range but made only six of them. Jayson Tatum has five points on 2-for-8 shooting, but he does have four assists.
3-point shootout in Minnesota so far
Score: 29-24 Wolves, 2:34 left in first quarter
Both teams are launching it from 3-point range, and it’s hard to blame them based on the success rate.
The Celtics started out 1-of-7 from beyond the arc, but they’ve hit five of their last seven 3-point attempts. The Timberwolves are shooting 7-of-11 from 3-point range.
In total, 27 of the 35 shots in this game have been 3-pointers.
The Timberwolves are shooting the 3-ball very well to start this game. They are 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, led by Julius Randle making two of his three attempts.
The Celtics, meanwhile, have hit just one of their seven 3-point attempts.
Tatum takes impressive streak into Celtics-Timberwolves
Jayson Tatum has tallied eight or more rebounds in 18 straight games, which is the second-longest active streak in the NBA behind New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns, per NBC Sports Boston’s Celtics stats guru Dick Lipe.
Tatum grabbed eight rebounds when the Celtics beat the T-Wolves in Boston on Nov. 24. The last time he tallied fewer than eight rebounds in a game was against the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 12.
Tatum is averaging a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game this season.
Celtics will be without two important players
The Celtics will be missing two key players against the T-Wolves. Jaylen Brown (right shoulder strain) and Kristaps Porzingis (left ankle sprain) will not play for Boston. Porzingis suffered an ankle injury against the Sixers on Christmas and has missed the last four games (including today).
Brown is considered day to day with his injury, per head coach Joe Mazzulla.
Al Horford and Sam Hauser could enter the starting lineup with Porzingis and Brown unavailable.
Can Celtics continue their success on the road?
The Celtics begin a tough four-game road trip Thursday in Minnesota, where they’ll take on Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.
The Timberwolves advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season as Edwards became a top 10 player in the NBA. This season has been more difficult for the T-Wolves, who own a 17-15 record in eighth place in the West standings.
The Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference standings at 24-9, but they’re just 5-5 in their last 10 games. However, the C’s have played fantastic on the road this season with an 11-3 record, tying the Thunder and Cavaliers for the fewest road defeats. Boston also is the fourth-highest scoring team on the road at 120.4 points per game.
Minnesota has been a tough place for the Celtics to win, though. The C’s are 6-6 in their last 12 games at the Target Center, including a 114-109 overtime loss last season.
Will a loaded January schedule bring out the best in Celtics?
Jrue Holiday talks with Abby Chin after the Celtics crushed the Toronto Raptors on New Year’s Eve
Calendar year 2024 was a magical trip around the sun for the Boston Celtics, and the team closed out a ridiculously successful 12-month run with one of the most lopsided wins in franchise history on New Year’s Eve. But things are about to get a whole lot more difficult.
With 40 percent of the 2024-25 regular season in the rearview mirror, the Celtics have yet to play more than two consecutive games against teams that currently own a record of .500 or better. They’ve done that five times total this season, but eight of their final nine games in 2024 were against teams with records under .500. And Boston still limped to a 5-4 record in those games.
The difficulty meter spikes immediately to start 2025. Every opponent on Boston’s four-game, Western Conference-road trip that opens Thursday night in Minnesota currently has a record of .500 or better, and Boston will play teams currently slotted in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th spots in the West standings during that trip.
What’s more, there’s a stretch in mid-January that features seven straight games against teams currently .500 or better, including another road trip that will pit Boston against teams currently sitting 4th, 6th, 7th, and 10th in the West.
