Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and recorded nine assists, helping the Boston Celtics hold off the Minnesota Timberwolves for a 118-115 victory on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Derrick White added 26 points, shooting 10-for-20 for Boston, which won its second consecutive game. Sam Hauser contributed 15 points, and Jrue Holiday chipped in 11.
Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Naz Reid scored 20 points off the bench, and Jaden McDaniels added 19.
The Celtics won despite missing two key starters, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. Brown was out with a right shoulder strain, and Porzingis was sidelined with a sprained left ankle.
Boston shot 50 percent (46 of 92) from the field and 38.6 percent (22 of 57) from three-point range. Minnesota made 50.7 percent (37 of 73) of their shots and 55.3 percent (21 of 39) from beyond the arc.
Turnovers hurt the Timberwolves, who committed 16 while Boston had only four.
The Celtics led by as many as 14 points before the Timberwolves fought back to tie the game 94-94 with 9:16 left. Donte DiVincenzo hit a three to even the score.
Tatum, who shot 13 of 27 from the field, helped Boston hold off the Timberwolves’ comeback. He hit a 14-foot jumper to put Boston ahead 112-104 with 4:20 left.
With Brown out, White stepped up as a second scoring option for the Celtics. He hit a step-back three-pointer to give Boston a 115-107 lead with 2:59 to go. After Reid answered with a three-pointer for Minnesota, White made another three to push the lead to 118-110.
Minnesota scored the last five points, with a layup from Reid and three free throws from DiVincenzo, but ran out of time to complete their rally.
At halftime, Boston led 62-51. Tatum and Hauser both had 12 points before the break, while Randle led Minnesota with 15 points.
