Jaylen Brown scores 23 in 4th as Celtics hammer Wolves to snap 3-game skid

Jaylen Brown scored 36 points and Jayson Tatum added 30 as the Boston Celtics snapped a three-game skid with a 121-109 win over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday (Saturday, December 24, Manila time).

Brown scored 23 of Boston’s 33 fourth-quarter points, the most in a single period in his NBA career.

Al Horford produced 17 points (largely due to five 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds for the Celtics. Derrick White scored 18 points, and Marcus Smart added 10 assists.

It was the Celtics’ 16th straight home win against Minnesota. The Timberwolves last won at Boston in March 2005.

Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 30 points.

D’Angelo Russell reached 8,000 career points during his 21-point, 10-assist performance for Minnesota. Jaden McDaniels added 17 points, Naz Reid had 14 and Jaylen Nowell finished with 13.

Brown scored Boston’s first 10 points of the fourth, including a step-back 3-pointer to run the lead to 98-94.

A 6-2 run gave the Celtics a 108-98 lead, their largest of the game to that point. After Tatum and Brown cut to the rim for dunks, a Brown reverse layup with 5:31 to go forced a Minnesota timeout.

Brown and Horford then hit back-to-back treys and Brown added another basket, capping a 12-1 stretch that put the game out of reach with less than four minutes remaining.

Russell scored 13 first-quarter points as the Timberwolves built a 29-22 advantage.

Edwards and Russell dropped back-to-back shots from deep to go ahead in the final 27 seconds of the first half, and the Timberwolves were up 56-54 at the break. Minnesota completed a 15-0 run that started before halftime, scoring the first seven points in the third for a nine-point lead.

A White three-point play and Tatum putback came during a game-tying 8-0 run by Boston. The Timberwolves regained the lead, but Horford banged in a corner triple to help Boston go up 88-86 to end the frame.

Boston center Robert Williams III (non-COVID illness) and Minnesota big man Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) were out. – Rappler.com