Timberwolves vs Celtics NBA Box Score 23 December 2022. I typically begin drafting my recaps during halftime. I expected to have a lot of good things to say as the Boston Celtics lead 50-41 with 3:46 remaining in the first half. They were behind 56-54 at the half, which highlights how tense tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves was.
While there are still some unanswered issues following a dreadful December thus far, they were able to win 121-109 tonight thanks to a masterful fourth-quarter performance from Jaylen Brown (36 points and 7 rebounds) and another MVP performance from Jayson Tatum (30 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists).
Timberwolves vs Celtics NBA Box Score
Marcus Smart (10 assists) entered the game after missing the previous one due to a non-COVID illness and immediately brought the energy level up. Boston’s chances were greatly enhanced by Smart’s pace and space (he was the only Celtic to make a three over the team’s first 12 attempts; the box score won’t show it as well as the eye test did). The Celtics immediately returned to several mistakes and just bad shooting for significant stretches of the game after initially appearing like the club we loved and trusted over the first 25 games. When it comes to figuring out the rotations, Joe Mazzulla has a lot to consider.
For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards (30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks), Rudy Gobert (8 points, 12 rebounds, and 0 blocks), and D’Angelo Russell (21 points, 11 assists) had to step up as Karl-Anthony Towns continued to miss time with a calf injury. Boston was under constant pressure from Minnesota’s backcourt the whole game, posing the issue of when Boston’s perimeter defence will get better. Off the bench, Naz Reid had a significant contribution with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He gave Minnesota’s starting lineup an immediate energy boost and punished Boston with his shooting and effort on the glass.
