Recap: Waters, Kornet Help Lead C’s to 123-108 Win vs Timberwolves
AP Photo | Andy Clayton-King
The Celtics faced off against the Timberwolves today in the penultimate game of their regular season. They snapped a four-game losing streak, blowing out the Wolves 123-108.
Boston’s injury report looked ugly today. Alongside Jaylen Brown, who underwent successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his wrist a few days ago, they were missing four key players. Marcus Smart (calf), Kemba Walker (neck), Tristan Thompson (pectoral), and Robert Williams (turf toe) were all out.
Jayson Tatum paved the road to victory, pouring in 26 points. His 11 rebounds led the team as well. Evan Fournier (18), Payton Pritchard (11), and Grant Williams (11) also scored the ball well, but Luke Kornet and Tremont Waters stole the show.
Kornet put up 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, and four blocks. He found himself in some precarious situations vs Karl-Anthony Towns in the post but held his own. Waters flashed some potential as a playmaker, dishing out a career-high seven assists. Waters also added 14 points (career-high), shooting 4-8 from the field and 3-3 from deep.
Towns acted as the Timberwolves’ main form of offense. He bullied Kornet in the post early on and continued to take a large majority of Minnesota’s shots. Towns finished with 24 points and 14 boards. Anthony Edwards (23), Naz Reid (12), and D’Angelo Russell (11) were the only other Timberwolves to score in double figures.
Three-point shooting divided these two teams. Boston shot 18-42 (42.9%) while Minnesota shot 5-37 (13.5%) from that range. The Wolves missed some open looks, but the C’s did a much better job at contesting shots than they have in recent weeks.
The Hornets and Pacers both lost today, meaning the C’s will play either the Hornets or Wizards on Tuesday. Charlotte plays Washington tomorrow, and the winner will get the eight-seed and play Boston in the first round of the play-in.
The Celtics wrap up their season tomorrow at Madison Square Garden. Their game vs the Knicks tips off at 1:00 p.m. (EST) on NBC Sports Boston.
