National Basketball Association
Boston 124, Minnesota 108
When: 2:00 PM ET, Saturday, May 15, 2021
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #3 Nick Buchert, #83 Andy Nagy, #60 James Williams
Attendance: 1638

Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds Saturday afternoon to help the Boston Celtics snap a four-game losing streak with a 124-108 win over the host Minnesota Timberwolves.

Evan Fournier added 18 points and six assists and Luke Kornet had 12 points and six boards for Boston (36-35). Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams each scored 11 for the Celtics, who swept their two-game season series with Minnesota.

Boston wraps up the regular season Sunday against the Knicks in New York. The seventh-place Celtics will then host the Eastern Conference's eighth-place finisher in a play-in game on Tuesday night for the right to earn the No. 7 seed in the playoffs.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves (22-49) with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Anthony Edwards extended his franchise rookie record with his 35th game with 20 or more points, finishing with 23, six assists and three steals.

Minnesota lost its second straight game and has dropped four of its past six. The Timberwolves conclude their season Sunday night at home against Dallas.

Boston was without five players due to injury during Saturday's game. Jaylen Brown (left scapholunate surgery), Kemba Walker (left cervical nerve irritation), Marcus Smart (right calf contusion), Robert Williams (left foot turf toe) and Tristan Thompson (left pectoral strain) were all sidelined.

The Timberwolves jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the first quarter, but it quickly evaporated as the Celtics pulled ahead 37-26 after one. Boston never trailed after that and led by as many as 23 points.

The game featured the two teams that Kevin Garnett spent the majority of his career with leading to his enshrinement in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., on Saturday night.

Garnett spent his first 12 NBA seasons with the Timberwolves before playing the next six in Boston and winning his lone NBA championship in 2008.

"I think it's well-documented: What he did was more than how he played," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said before the game. "His energy, his relentlessness, his demanding of excellence across the board from his team.

"Everybody that talks about those teams obviously talks about all the talent that they had, but that he was the spiritual guy that put them over the top every single day."

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Minnesota
Jayson Tatum 26 Scoring Karl-Anthony Towns 24
Tremont Waters 7 Assists Anthony Edwards 6
Jayson Tatum 11 Rebounds Karl-Anthony Towns 14
Jayson Tatum 6 Free Throws Made Anthony Edwards 6
Payton Pritchard 4 Steals Anthony Edwards 3
Luke Kornet 4 Blocks Naz Reid 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 124 48.4 18-42 14-18 27 44 6 8 15
Minnesota 108 41.1 5-37 25-34 22 51 7 8 13
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .261 after a win and .333 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against New York. The Celtics have a W/L % of .486 after a win and .528 after a loss.