Game ID: 22300154
Boston Celtics @ Minnesota Timberwolves
Monday, November 6, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Target Center, Minneapolis, MN
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
MIN 29 23 27 22 13 114BOS 26 29 19 27 8 109
BOS @ MIN ScoutingBOS @ MIN Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
MIN availability going into 10/28 · 2 days' rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 10/30 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restNEW Milton 13 to 18 min over the last 3
MIN availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restNEW Milton 13 to 18 min over the last 4
MIN availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's rest
full strength
MIN availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT McLaughlin missed 2 since 11/08, out tonight
MIN availability going into 11/14 · 1 day's restOUT McLaughlin missed 3 since 11/08, out tonight
BOS availability going into 10/27 · 1 day's rest
full strength
BOS availability going into 10/30 · 2 days' restOUT Queta missed 2 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/01 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 3 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/04 · 2 days' restOUT Queta missed 4 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 5 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT White missed 2 since 11/04, returns tonight: 38 min (113% of 33)
OUT Queta missed 6 since 10/25, out tonight
BOS availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 7 since 10/25, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 11/06, returns tonight: 8 min (74% of 10)
BACK White back 11/08 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 33)
BOS availability going into 11/11 · back-to-backOUT Queta missed 8 since 10/25, out tonight
BACK White back 11/08 after 2, 32 min since (97% of 33)
BACK Brissett back 11/10 after 2, 8 min since (74% of 10)
BOS availability going into 11/13 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 9 since 10/25, out tonight
BACK White back 11/08 after 2, 30 min since (90% of 33)
BACK Brissett back 11/10 after 2, 6 min since (60% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 100, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 26 and Towns at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 108, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 11 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 100 a night to Boston's 108 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Minnesota plus-6. Call it Boston 112, Minnesota 110, Minnesota keeping it close.
10/28 vs MIA 106-90 — MIN notes
MIN won 106-90. MIN shot 51% (44 of 86) to MIA's 40%, 12 of 34 from three, and got to the line 8 times to MIA's 14. Reid led with 25 (10 of 14, 4 of 7 from three); Edwards added 19, Gobert 14. The hinge was Q4, 26-17: a lead of 7 became 16, and the lead reached 23. Reid was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
10/30 @ ATL 113-127 — MIN notes
MIN lost 113-127. MIN shot 49% (44 of 90) to ATL's 56%, 16 of 33 from three. Edwards led with 31 (13 of 21, 5 of 8 from three); Towns added 16, Gobert 14. Q2 was theirs, 37-25, but the other 3 periods went 102-76 against them. They led by as many as 21. Reid's -21 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/01 vs DEN 110-89 — MIN notes
MIN won 110-89. MIN shot 46% (38 of 83) to DEN's 40%, 8 of 21 from three, and went to the line 27 times to DEN's 10 — 26 points from the stripe to their 7. Edwards led with 24 (8 of 16, 1 of 4 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Towns added 21, Conley 17. The hinge was Q2, 35-23: a lead of 7 became 19, and the lead reached 23. Towns was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
11/04 vs UTA 123-95 — MIN notes
MIN won 123-95. MIN shot 56% (45 of 81) to UTA's 38%, 9 of 24 from three, and went to the line 31 times to UTA's 17 — 24 points from the stripe to their 13. MIN turned it over 10 times to UTA's 18. Edwards led with 31 (13 of 19, 2 of 4 from three); Towns added 25, Reid 16. The hinge was Q4, 31-18: a lead of 15 became 28, and the lead reached 31. Edwards was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
11/06 vs BOS 114-109 — MIN notes
MIN won 114-109 in 1 overtime. MIN shot 52% (44 of 85) to BOS's 39%, 13 of 37 from three, and got to the line 25 times to BOS's 34. MIN turned it over 23 times to BOS's 16, and BOS turned those into 13 steals. Edwards led with 38 (15 of 25, 2 of 8 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); McDaniels added 20, Gobert 14. The hinge was Q3, 27-19: MIN came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 5. MIN trailed 52-55 at the half and won the second half 62-54. Gobert was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
11/08 vs NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 102, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Reid at 17 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 122, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 25 free throws a game; McCollum at 24 and Williamson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-3 a night and New Orleans minus-10 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 102 a night to New Orleans's 122. Call it Minnesota 116, New Orleans 105, Minnesota by 11.
11/10 @ SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
San Antonio comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 127, shooting 48 percent and 36 from three, 18 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 21 and Johnson at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 104, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 30 and Towns at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 104 a night to San Antonio's 127 and the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and San Antonio minus-3. Call it Minnesota 119, San Antonio 110.
11/12 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 118, shooting 44 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Curry at 29 and Thompson at 16 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 101, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Towns at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 101 a night to Golden State's 118. Call it Minnesota 114, Golden State 109.
11/14 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 113, shooting 41 percent and 32 from three, 27 free throws a game; Curry at 31 and Thompson at 15 a game. That is 3 straight losses. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 105, shooting 53 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Edwards at 31 and Towns at 21 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Minnesota allowing 105 a night to Golden State's 113 and the arc, Minnesota at 37 percent from three to Golden State's 32. Call it Minnesota 113, Golden State 109, Golden State keeping it close.
10/27 vs MIA 119-111 — BOS notes
BOS won 119-111. BOS shot 47% (45 of 95) to MIA's 43%, 16 of 39 from three. The glass went 55-45 for them. White led with 28 (9 of 15, 5 of 7 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Brown added 27, Tatum 22. The hinge was Q4, 32-23: BOS came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 8. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
10/30 @ WAS 126-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 126-107. BOS shot 50% (51 of 102) to WAS's 45%, 19 of 53 from three, and got to the line 7 times to WAS's 26. The glass went 51-40 for them. Brown led with 36 (13 of 24, 8 of 13 from three); Tatum added 33, Porziņģis 15. The hinge was Q1, 42-19: from level to 23 ahead, and the lead reached 37. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
11/01 vs IND 155-104 — BOS notes
BOS won 155-104. BOS shot 57% (54 of 95) to IND's 46%, 20 of 35 from three, and went to the line 28 times to IND's 12 — 27 points from the stripe to their 7. The glass went 57-31 for them. Tatum led with 30 (9 of 15, 3 of 5 from three, 9 of 10 at the line); White added 18, Hauser 17. The hinge was Q1, 44-27: from level to 17 ahead, and the lead reached 53. Tatum was the night's best plus/minus at +36.
11/04 @ BKN 124-114 — BOS notes
BOS won 124-114. BOS shot 48% (43 of 90) to BKN's 43%, 15 of 45 from three, and went to the line 27 times to BKN's 17 — 23 points from the stripe to their 11. BOS turned it over 11 times to BKN's 5. Tatum led with 32 (10 of 20, 6 of 10 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Brown added 23, Porziņģis 22. The hinge was Q2, 36-24: from level to 12 ahead. Horford was the night's best plus/minus at +29.
11/06 @ MIN 109-114 — BOS notes
BOS lost 109-114 in 1 overtime. BOS shot 39% (36 of 92) to MIN's 52%, 11 of 39 from three, and went to the line 34 times to MIN's 25 — 26 points from the stripe to their 13. BOS turned it over 16 times to MIN's 23. Tatum led with 32 (12 of 22, 2 of 8 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Brown added 26, Porziņģis 20. Q2 was theirs, 29-23, turning a 3-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 4 periods went 91-80 against them. Holiday's -19 in 42 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/08 @ PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Philadelphia comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 106, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 28 free throws a game; Embiid at 34 and Maxey at 24 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 110, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 23 free throws a game; Tatum at 30 and Brown at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without White (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Philadelphia wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and Philadelphia plus-6 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 28 free throws a game to Boston's 23. Call it Philadelphia 117, Boston 115, Boston keeping it close.
11/10 vs BKN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Tatum at 29 and Brown at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Brooklyn comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Thomas at 23 and Bridges at 20 a game. Without Claxton (7 straight), Cam. Johnson (7 straight), Clowney (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Brooklyn minus-3 and the line, where Boston takes 23 free throws a game to Brooklyn's 15. Call it Boston 119, Brooklyn 110.
11/11 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 27 free throws a game; Tatum at 27 and Brown at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Toronto comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Barnes at 22 and Siakam at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Freeman-Liberty (6 straight), Achiuwa (5 straight), Young (2 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the line, where Boston takes 27 free throws a game to Toronto's 20. Call it Boston 116, Toronto 110.
11/13 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 24 free throws a game; Tatum at 26 and Brown at 23 a game. One day's rest. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 103, shooting 44 percent and 34 from three, 25 free throws a game; Barrett at 25 and Brunson at 24 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-8 a night and Boston plus-2. Call it Boston 112, New York 107.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
MINAE A. Edwards
JM J. McDaniels
JM J. McLaughlin
KA K. Anderson
KT K. Towns
MC M. Conley
NA N. Alexander-Walker
NR N. Reid
RG R. Gobert
BOSAH A. Horford
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
KP K. Porziņģis
LK L. Kornet
LS L. Stevens
PP P. Pritchard
PO Porzingis
SH S. Hauser
MIN/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Edwards scores 38, Wolves hand Celtics 1st loss with 114-109 OT victory
MINNEAPOLIS -- — Anthony Edwards scored eight of his 38 points in overtime, and the Minnesota Timberwolves sent the Boston Celtics to their first loss of the season with a 114-109 win on Monday night.
Jaden McDaniels added 20 points, and Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota improved to 4-0 at home in a third consecutive victory.
Naz Reid scored 10 of his 14 points in the first quarter and helped the Timberwolves overcome foul trouble for Karl-Anthony Towns , who finished with seven points in just 28 minutes before fouling out in overtime.
“They’re a championship-level team,” Gobert said. “They find ways to always stay in the game, always never giving up. We did the same. A lot of things didn’t go our way, but whoever came on the floor was ready to do what we do, was ready to bring us something.”
Jayson Tatum had 32 points and Jaylen Brown added 26 for the Celtics. Boston's 6-0 start was its best since 2009-10.
Kristaps Porzingis , who was questionable before the game with a stye, scored 20. The Celtics were without starting guard Derrick White for the second straight game due to personal reasons.
“Very competitive and opponents are always going to bring the best out of us," Boston coach Joe Mazzula said. “I thought we competed at a high level. I thought their defensive toughness outmatched our offensive toughness at times.”
Neither team led by more than eight in a matchup of teams with the best offensive and defensive ratings early in the season.
The Celtics were third in the NBA shooting 50.1% from the floor this season. Minnesota held Boston to a season-low 39.1% shooting, including an 11-of-29 mark from 3-point territory, and a season-high 18 turnovers.
“Their overall pressure bothered us on the offensive end," Mazzula said. "So, that’s a good learning point for us.”
The game was an offensive stalemate late in regulation, with McDaniels scoring the final points on a 3-pointer for a 101-101 tie with 1:41 remaining. The teams combined for five missed shots and four turnovers in the final 90 seconds of regulation.
Mike Conley put Minnesota ahead for good at 106-105 on a 3-pointer with 3:08 left in overtime, then Edwards hit three consecutive jumpers to finish a 9-0 run.
McDaniels hit a jumper with 16 seconds left after Tatum had pulled the Celtics within three.
Edwards was 15 of 25 from the field and had nine rebounds and seven assists.
“He loves the moment,” Wolves coach Chris Finch said. “We know we still got to get better at closing out that game in regulation with some of our decision-making and ball movement and using the defense against them a little bit. But guys who like the moment are oftentimes few and far between. We’re lucky we have one on our team.”