The Celtics looked like a team ready to come home from a 10-day road trip. On their final night away from Boston the Cs fell to the Timberwolves 110-98, giving Minnesota its first home win since December 10th.
As it’s done all trip, the Celtics’ second unit provided energy on both ends of the floor. The Celtics trailed by 7 near the end of the first half when the bench closed the quarter on an 8-0 run, giving the Cs a one-point halftime lead. The Wolves then built a 13-point, third quarter lead with help from promising youngsters, Gorgui Dieng and Zach Lavine. Again, it was the second unit that brought the Celtics back with big threes from Marcus Smart and an array of jumpers from Marcus Thornton. The Celts closed to within four early in the fourth quarter, but failed to make it a one possession game.
Ultimately, Kevin Martin, who returned after missing 34 games with a fractured wrist, dashed the Celtics’ hopes of finishing the road-trip over .500.
The Green
Marcus Thornton very nearly made this a game on his own in the late third and early fourth quarter. He finished with 15 points on 7-13 shooting. PLEASE READ: CONTENDING TEAMS!
His namesake, Marcus Smart, also gave the Cs a spark off the bench. He continues to shoot the ball well from deep, finishing 4-5 from downtown, with 12 points and 6 assists.
The Gross
Jared Sullinger’s defense. While Sully poured in 16 points to lead the Cs in scoring, he was out-hustled routinely by Dieng, who finished with 16 points and 14 boards.
The opening minutes of the third quarter. Up one after a strong close to the first half, the Celtics allowed the Wolves to score the first ten points of the half. They never recovered.
The Greenlights
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And your dunk contest favorite is…
The Grid
The Wolves went 28-32 from the free-throw line. The Celtics took just 9 free throws.
For what felt like a sloppy game, the two teams combined for just 24 turnovers (13 for the Celtics, 11 for the Wolves).
Lavine had arguably his best game as a rookie. He finished with 17 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Celtics had 47 bench points.
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