BOSTON — For the first 45 minutes of Wednesday night’s game at TD Garden between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics — the teams with the two best records in the NBA entering the day — it looked for all the world like the undefeated Celtics season opener at home would end.
After winning 17 straight in Boston to start the season, the Celtics — playing a missing Minnesota team Mike Conley and Rudy Gobert who played Tuesday night in Orlando, Fla., and didn’t arrive in town until 1 p.m. Wednesday because of the weather — had sleepwalked to a seven-point deficit inside the final three minutes of the contest.
But then Jason Tatum took over. He scored 18 of Boston’s final 25 points — including the game-winner against Minnesota (12-9) in overtime — to finish with 45 as the Celtics set a franchise-record 18th straight home win to start the season , 127-120 triumph over the Timberwolves.
“We were kind of sluggish to start the game, most of the game,” Tatum said. βReally, those last six minutes in the fourth and overtime, we really played like ourselves.
βThat’s kind of scary … because, like, 12 minutes into the game, that was the only time we really played like ourselves on both ends and managed to win the game.
“It just shows that we can be a really special team.”
Tatum was right. It was only the final 12 minutes, if that, when Boston (29-8) looked like the team that entered this game with the NBA’s best record, the league’s second-ranked offense and defense and its best net rating.
Instead, the Celtics largely outplayed the early stages, allowing a tired Timberwolves team missing two starters — including a leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate in Gobert — to hang around. Then, as the second half wore on, Minnesota (26-11) started making shots, with Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Kyle Anderson combining to score 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Timberwolves lead Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns he only had three.
That allowed Minnesota to stake a 109-102 lead after Alexander-Walker hit a 3-pointer with 2:42 left, one that briefly looked like it would end Boston’s streak.
But then Tatum hit a layup and a step-back 3, and with 36 seconds left, fouled Towns on a baseline shot to go to the charity stripe for two free throws and a chance to tie the game. After Tatum missed the second free throw, Derrick White rushed for the rebound and Tatum’s hot play sent Anderson flying Jrue Holiday in the corner to double, setting up Holiday for an open 3-pointer with 25.2 seconds left that put Boston back in front.
“Yes, [Tatum is] tough, man,β Anderson said. “It got hot. I kind of messed around and cheated, leaving my guy, and they hit a big trey, but I felt like he scored every possession, so I wanted to see if somebody else could do it.
“They did. That’s what a good team does. That’s about me. I’ve got to be more disciplined.”
Discipline, or the lack of it, defined how he shook out the rest of the game. Edwards, one of the league’s brightest young stars, continued to try to force games late in regulation and overtime, looking to replicate his performance in the last meeting between these teams on Nov. 6 in Minneapolis, when Edwards singled of Boston in overtime to win the game for the Timberwolves.
This time, it was Tatum who turned the tables on Edwards and the Wolves, completely shutting down Minnesota’s defense in the extra session.
“I think Anthony had four turnovers in that final stretch,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Just too much iso, too much iso against a really good defense.”
Much of that defense on Edwards, who finished with 29 points but did not speak to the media postgame, was played late in the game by Brown, who took on the challenge of shutting down his fellow Georgia native and did so brilliantly. Edwards can usually use his size and strength to intimidate defenders. Brown, however, is the rare defender that Edwards can’t do that, and Brown has taken it upon himself to make sure his “little brother” doesn’t repeat his performance in November.
“Tonight was just a night where we’re playing against a young superstar in Anthony Edwards, where he’s going to be aggressive,” Brown said. “He’s young. He’s looking for games like this. He wants to play against big names and big teams because it’s an opportunity to show his greatness. My point was, not tonight. We can’t let him do what he did to everyone else , to us, especially after the first match”.
And, after all, Brown was good on his word. His contributions didn’t end there, however, as he scored 35 to combine with Tatum for 80 points — the most they’ve ever scored together in one game.
In another piece of Celtics history, Tatum and Brown have now combined to score at least 35 points in a game four times in their careers. In the rest of franchise history, the teammates have only done it five times combined.
As a result, a Celtics team that went a combined 11-12 at home over the past two seasons is re-establishing home court dominance, with an 18-game winning streak that represents the fourth-longest streak in the NBA in the last 25 years. It’s something Tatum said was a specific goal entering this season.
“It means a lot,” Tatum said of the home run. “I’m saying that the last year or two, especially in the playoffs, we haven’t played that well at home. And earlier in my career, we never really lost at home. rewarding the fans that come out and support us every night. It’s good to get back on track and play really well at home.”