Wolves' rally falls just short in loss to defending champion Celtics

Naz Reid's attempt at a game-winning 3-pointer didn't fall.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown shoots the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the first half at TD Garden in Boston on Nov. 24, 2024. / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Naz Reid had a good look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer. It bounced off the rim.

A furious fourth-quarter rally from the Timberwolves came up just short as they fell 107-105 to the defending champion Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden in Boston. It's Minnesota's second straight loss.

The Wolves (8-8) fell behind by as many as 19 points in the third quarter, but they whittled down their deficit and found themselves in a one-possession game in the waning minutes. Anthony Edwards hit a clutch 3, and Julius Randle found a cutting Jaden McDaniels their next possession to make it a 104-102 game with just over two minutes remaining.

But Jaylen Brown, who finished with a game-high 29 points for the Celtics (14-3), drilling a 3 from the top of the key with 1 minute, 15 seconds remaining to put Boston up seven. Randle made 1 of 2 from the free-throw line the next possession, and Donte DiVincenzo dropped it off to him for a layup a possession later that cut it back to 107-105.

After coming up with a critical stop, Wolves coach Chris Finch called a pair of timeouts with 7.1 seconds remaining to advance the ball. Edwards got the ball, drove, kicked it out to McDaniels, who made the extra pass to Reid at the top of the key. It was a pretty good look, but the shot just didn't fall. It was an excellent rally, but Minnesota came up just short.

The effort was encouraging after Thursday's dysfunctional loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Wolves didn't look like that team on Sunday, even without Mike Conley, who was ruled out before the game due to a toe sprain. DiVincenzo got his first start of the season in his place, finishing his night with 11 points, three rebounds and a pair of assists.

Edwards led the Wolves with a team-high 28 points, Randle had 23 points and six rebounds and Rudy Gobert took advantage of the small Celtics lineup with 10 points and 20 rebounds, eight of which came on the offensive glass.

Jayson Tatum had 26 points and eight rebounds. Derrick White scored 19, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter.

Rob Dillingham put together his best game in a Timberwolves uniform, playing a career-high 16 minutes and scoring a career-high 14 points, his first double-digit performance. He also had an assist and finished with a plus-minus of plus-2.

The Wolves bench was quiet outside Dillingham with 23 points total points from the reserves.

Ultimately, the Wolves didn't get it done but it was an effort they stack moving forward. They'll need a similar intensity when they host the Houston Rockets Tuesday night at Target Center at 7 p.m. for more NBA Cup action.