Anthony Edwards scored 38 points and Jaden McDaniels hit the dagger jumper in overtime as the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2) took down the juggernaut Boston Celtics (5-1) 114-109 in front of a raucous crowd at Target Center.
Something had to give Monday night in Minneapolis as the NBA’s No. 1 offense went up against the league’s No. 1 defense. Minnesota entered the game with the No. 1 defensive rating in the league, allowing 101.2 points per 100 possessions and just 99.6 points per game. Boston was No. 1 on offense, averaging 124.7 points per 100 possessions and a blistering 126.4 points per game.
On top of that, the basketball gods were begging the Wolves to fold. Edwards had five fouls with 10:49 left in the fourth quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns had seven turnovers and seven points, and Rudy Gobert was 2-of-11 from the free-throw line. But the Wolves held firm with another statement victory, having already smoked the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Both Denver and Boston were undefeated until running into the Timberwolves.
Boston led 55-52 at the half before Minnesota outscored the Celtics 27-19 in the third quarter, fueled by a defense that helped force Boston miss 11 straight shots to end the quarter.
But things changed early in the fourth quarter when Edwards was called for his fifth foul with 10:49 to play. He went to the bench and his star counterpart Karl-Anthony Towns failed to shine under the spotlight.
Leading 85-78, the Wolves got a stop and were in transition when Towns’ outlet pass sailed out of bounds. Boston turned that turnover into a Sam Hauser 3-pointer and then on the next possession Towns dribbled the ball off his foot out of bounds. Jayson Tatum made Towns pay with a layup on the other end, and then Tatum buried a step-back jumper to tie the game at 85-85.
Tatum made it seven straight points with a deep 3 to give Boston an 88-85 lead and that prompted a return of Edwards with 7:09 to go and Edwards buried a 3 just 34 seconds later to steal the lead back at 90-88.
Jaylen Brown buried a corner 3 to put Boston ahead 101-98 with exactly 2 minutes remaining and then 20 seconds later Jaden McDaniels buried a triple to tie the game. It stayed tied 101-101 into overtime, but not without some drama in the final minute.
Edwards missed a pull-up 3 with 37 seconds to go but Boston missed the opportunity when Al Horford lost the ball and slipped out of bounds with 32 seconds to play. Edwards then missed another 3 with Tatum in his face before Brown bricked a 3 to send the game to overtime.
Edwards made up for it with eight points in overtime to lead Minnesota to a third straight win while holding their opponent to under 40% shooting. Boston shot just 39.1% for the game against the NBA’s top defense.
Key stats:
- Anthony Edwards: 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists (15-of-25 shooting)
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 7 points, 10 rebounds, 7 turnovers, 6 fouls
- Rudy Gobert: 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2-of-11 free throws
- Jaden McDaniels: 20 points, 4-of-9 3-pointers
- Jayson Tatum: 32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 steals
- Jaylen Brown: 26 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Note: Towns had brutal night. He didn’t score in the first half because he sat out the majority of the second quarter after picking up a third foul. He was called for an offensive foul on the first possession of overtime and then lost a rebound to Jrue Holiday the next trip down the court, and then with 3:56 left in overtime Towns fouled out of the game.
Up next: Timberwolves vs. Pelicans, Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
