20160222-BOSMIN

Marc D'Amico

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MINNEAPOLIS – The Boston Celtics are now 0-for-2 in their attempts to slow down Karl-Anthony Towns.  As a result, they’re now 1-1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Towns, the top overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, was unstoppable during Minnesota’s 124-122 win over Boston Monday night at the Target Center. He finished the contest with game highs of 28 points and 13 rebounds for his 32nd double-double of the season.

“Towns had his way with us the whole night,” said Brad Stevens.

Minnesota’s big man, who totaled 25 points and 16 rebounds against Boston back on Dec. 21, came out of the gates red-hot, notching 15 points and seven rebounds during the first quarter alone.  He shot 7-of-10 during the period, including a 4-of-6 performance from inside the paint.

Such efficiency was the story of the night for the Timberwolves as a whole, not only for Towns.  Minnesota scored 48 points in the paint, where Evan Turner said the Wolves “made a living,” thanks to dominant play in the post from its bigs and dribble penetration from its perimeter players.

“They manhandled us in the paint,” explained Isaiah Thomas.

Stevens added, “I just thought that we physically got handled, especially by Towns.”

Minnesota’s dominant performance at the offensive end pushed it ahead by as many as 16 points on the night.  It led by at least 10 points during each of the four quarters and nursed a double-digit lead for most of the second half.

Monday’s contest marks three consecutive games during which the Celtics struggled against bigger, taller frontlines.  Derrick Favors and Rudy Gobert combined for 34 points and 25 rebounds Friday night in Salt Lake City., and Nikola Jokic and Danilo Gallinari combined for 40 points and 16 rebounds Sunday night in Denver.  During this contest, Towns and Gorgui Dieng combined for 45 points and 25 boards.

“You have to figure out what you can do to make it as difficult as possible (against bigger frontlines),” said Stevens.  “That’s life in the NBA for everybody but four or five players really.  That’s just the way it is and you’ve got to figure it out and be as solid as you can be and make it as difficult as you can.”

Boston did turn the tables on Towns and Minnesota’s offense late in the game.  Stevens flipped his defense into a zone, which forced consecutive turnovers after the change.  The C’s then began trapping Towns when he caught the ball on the block, which essentially took him out of the game during crunch time.

Such defensive strategies provided the Celtics with some life down the stretch.  They trailed by 14 points with 3:58 left on the clock but knew that all hope was not lost.

“I just felt like we were still going to have a chance at the end,” Jae Crowder remembered thinking as he looked at the scoreboard at that moment.  “It was just up to us to capitalize on it.”

The C’s did so by scoring 22 of the game’s final 32 points.  They trailed by 10 points with 1:22 remaining yet whittled that deficit down to one when Avery Bradley canned a 3-pointer from the right wing with 6.2 seconds left on the clock.

“You can never count us out,” said Isaiah Thomas, who managed to score 18 points despite struggling all night to catch a rhythm at the offensive end.  “We’re always going to give it our all and keep fighting and we did.”

He ended his final comment of the night by saying, “We gave ourselves a chance to win, but just came up short.”

Following Bradley’s 3, Zach LaVine made only one of his two free throws, providing the Celtics with a chance to tie or win the game with 5.3 seconds remaining.  However, Marcus Smart took the inbound pass three quarters of the court and fired up a 3-pointer that bounced off of the front of the rim as the final buzzer sounded.

Boston did have a chance to win, and after the game its players were proud of that fact.  Yet they knew that the final play of the night was not the deciding factor in their most recent defeat.

As Turner put it, “There were a lot of things that occurred prior to that.”

Yes, a lot of things, such as buckets and boards in the paint.  Towns, the NBA’s most talented rookie, was the lynchpin of it all.

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Celts Can't Stop Towns in Minnesota

Taylor Snow

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Minnesota’s youth had its way against the Celtics’ defense throughout Monday night’s contest in Minneapolis, but Boston's young gun, Marcus Smart, wanted to silence their collective effort in one fell swoop.

Down 124-122 with 5.3 seconds remaining in the game, Boston had a chance to pull off a miraculous comeback, as they had trailed by 10 points just a minute and 10 seconds earlier.

Smart received the baseline inbound pass from Jae Crowder and ripped his way up the right side of the court with his mind set on nothing but the win. He rose up abruptly, well beyond the arc on the right wing with 2.5 seconds left, and tossed a prayer over Ricky Rubio’s outstretched right hand. The ball clanged off the front of the rim, and Minnesota hung on for the two-point victory.

As Smart stormed up the court, he had the option to pass to a wide-open Isaiah Thomas who was streaking up the opposite side with his arms raised while calling for the ball. Smart’s competitive eye, however, was locked on the basket and he wanted to deliver the final blow.

The 21-year-old youngster showed great confidence with the ball in his hands and the clock ticking down, and you can't fault him for that. Unfortunately his attempt came up just inches short, along with Boston’s hope to pull off a miraculous last-minute comeback.

Boston put forth a120-point effort for the fourth time in six games Monday night, and this time it was Jae Crowder leading the scoring charge.

Crowder notched a career-high 27 points, 16 of which were scored during the third quarter alone. He shot 9-of-15 from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

The swingman’s biggest shot of the night was his last one: A 3-pointer that not only established his new career high, but also brought the C’s within five points of the Timberwolves with 33.9 seconds remaining in the game.

Along with his stellar performance from the field, Crowder hit all five of his free throw attempts and tallied nine boards, three assists and a pair of steals.

Brad Stevens on Boston's late-game comeback attempt.

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Keys to the Game: Timberwolves 124, Celtics 122

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Photos: Celtics vs. Timberwolves – Feb. 22, 2016

Monday, February 22 - Celtics at Timberwolves

Pregame - Stevens is in Awe of T'Wolves' Talent; Talks Roster Spot

MINNEAPOLIS – If you’re a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, drop everything.  Brad Stevens just made comments about your young roster that may be a sign of things to come.

“This is Oklahoma City revisited,” Stevens said ahead of tonight’s game at the Target Center, referencing the Thunder’s core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka, who were all homegrown through the Draft.  “When you look at the talent, when you look at the people that are being built with, when you look at the (Karl-Anthony) Towns and the (Andrew) Wiggins and obviously (Zach) LaVine… that’s ultimate talent.”

Lean back, kick your feet up and have a cold one to cheers to those comments.  It doesn’t get any better than that from an opposing coach who is talking about a young and building team.

The trio of Towns, Wiggins and LaVine seems to be the real deal.

Towns, the first overall pick of the 2015 Draft, is having one of the best rookie seasons in recent memory, as he enters tonight’s game with averages of 17.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.  His player efficiency rating is at an impressive mark of 22.9.

Wiggins, who was drafted first overall in 2014, is Minnesota’s leading scorer with an average of 20.8 points per game.  That’s a spike of nearly four points from last season’s average of 16.9 per game.

LaVine, meanwhile, hasn’t put up numbers comparable to his teammates, but the world knows all about his athleticism.  He wowed onlookers two seasons in a row at the All-Star dunk contest, taking home the trophy in both instances.  During game action, he’s making a difference, too.  He is averaging 13.0 points, 3.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves.

Stevens turned his mind back to Dec. 21, when these teams met at TD Garden, and he didn’t enjoy the memories that he found.

“Towns and Wiggins and LaVine all did things last time they were in Boston that just kind of made your head spin,” he said with astonishment.

Fortunately for Stevens, his players were still able to down the up-and-coming Wolves.  Boston pulled out a 113-99 win as six C’s scored in double-figures.

Those on Boston’s side will hope for a similar result tonight at the Target Center.  Regardless of whether the C’s win or lose, however, Timberwolves fans have a lot to be excited about thanks to Stevens’ comments.

Boston has an open roster spot now that David Lee has been waived and moved on to the Dallas Mavericks.  Stevens talked in generalities Friday evening in regard to that spot, but dove into a bit more detail this evening.

Asked what the Celtics may look to add via that open spot, Stevens responded, “I think that we’ll continue to look for versatility and we’ll continue to look for shooting if the right people become available that we think is a great fit for our team, or if we need them based on injuries or whatever the case may be.”

The coach said yet again that he has had no conversations with Danny Ainge and his crew regarding the open roster spot.  However, this tidbit at least gives a view into what the C’s will look to add should they choose to fill out their roster before the March 1 deadline for postseason eligibility.

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DraftKings Post-Ups: Stevens in Awe of T'wolves' Talent

The Boston Celtics brushed off their All-Star break rust with the type of efficient offensive play that made them the Eastern Conference's best team over the previous three weeks.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves' scoring struggles have returned following a brief and uncharacteristic surge.

The Celtics look to continue solidifying their spot toward the top of the East standings when they close a three-game road trip against the Timberwolves on Monday night.

Boston (33-24) experienced two opposite performances out of the break, shooting 37 percent in Friday's 111-93 loss at Utah and 48.5 in Sunday's 121-101 win at Denver.

They followed their worst shooting percentage since Jan. 7 with one that is more telling of their play since late last month, including an East-leading 10-2 record from Jan. 22-Feb. 10. Boston averaged 113.1 points during that stretch, fewer than only Golden State (119.8) and Oklahoma City (116.2).

The catalyst has been All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, both scoring the basketball and distributing it. Thomas has averaged 21.2 points and 6.7 assists in Boston's 14-game surge, including marks of 27.7 and 9.7 the last three games.

Thomas finished one off a career high with 12 assists to go with 22 points against the Nuggets, helping Boston return to its well-rounded attack. Only four players finished in double figures against the Jazz, leading to one of the Celtics' two games scoring fewer than 100 points since Jan. 12, but six scored at least 10 against Denver - with another scoring nine.

Boston is 13-4 when at least six players score in double figures.

"We played our butts off," said Jared Sullinger, who finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. "Five guys connected. We got the rust off and are looking to move forward."

Boston held the East's No. 8 seed on Jan. 20 but has moved all the way up to the third slot with an eye on catching Toronto in the Atlantic Division.

Things were looking up for Minnesota (17-39) when it entered the break with wins in three of four games, but two straight losses have stopped any momentum.

They logged a 42.1 shooting percentage on 3-pointers in the consecutive defeats but still finished at that number overall - looking more like the team that averaged only 96.4 points in 24 games from Dec. 18-Jan. 31 before a surge of 110.8 in five games before the break.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins each scored 24 points and Ricky Rubio had 16 assists in Saturday's 103-95 loss to New York, but only five Minnesota players scored more than three points.

Towns has averaged 21.8 points and 12.4 rebounds the last 14 games, but he's 14 of 38 from the field the last two and his 10-game streak of double-digit rebounding efforts ended Saturday as he finished with eight.

"It's not even missing a shot, it's more that shots were going in and out," Towns said. "That's the most upsetting part. You can fix misses. You can't fix in-and-out."

Towns finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds and Wiggins scored 26 in the first matchup in this series, but six Boston players scored in double figures in the Celtics' 113-99 home win on Dec. 21.

The teams have split the last six games in this series, but the Timberwolves have won all three at home - where they are 9-20 this season.

20160222‑BOSMIN

Celts Can't Stop Towns in Minnesota

Keys to the Game: Timberwolves 124, Celtics 122

Photos: Celtics vs. Timberwolves – Feb. 22, 2016

DraftKings Post-Ups: Stevens in Awe of T'wolves' Talent

2/22 Game Preview: Celtics at Timberwolves