It hadn’t happened since 2005. The Boston Celtics fall at home to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 92-102 a loss that stings not just because of the score, but for how it unfolded. Despite the presence of the star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and the absence of Anthony Edwards for the “Wolves”Boston completely collapsed at the worst moment, dropping to a 47-24 record on the season.
After the game, it was Brown who stepped up. Despite scoring 29 points (team-high), the Celtics forward made no excuses for a tough shooting night (9-of-26 from the field):
Personally, I feel like sometimes when the game starts slipping away, you tend to get too aggressive when you actually need more patience. I could have managed certain moments better. We’ll watch the film and learn from it for the next game
Jaylen Brown
Brown – who scored 41 against the Phoenix Suns just last week and called himself one of the best players in the league – also highlighted how the offensive drought spilled over into the defensive end, creating a snowball effect in the fourth quarter where Boston managed just 15 points.
While Brown focused on emotional control, head coach Joe Mazzulla pointed to tactical execution. He emphasized how Minnesota’s bench disrupted Boston’s rhythm with relentless pressure:
They threw off the timing of our offense. We ended up taking shots late in the clock and missed too many easy looks
Joe Mazzulla
The numbers back it up: Boston shot just 36% from the field and an even colder 27% from three-point range.
With only 11 games left in the regular season, the Celtics now feel the pressure from the New York Knicks who trail by just 1.5 games.
To secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference and head into the playoffs with home-court advantage Tatum and his teammates will need to quickly rediscover the composure that vanished during the TD Garden blackout.
Comments are closed.