Takeaways: Timberwolves hang on against Celtics, end 3-game losing streak

Chris Hine, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Nov 29, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS — Disaster almost struck the Minnesota Timberwolves again Saturday, as a 12-point lead disappeared in the final minutes against the Boston Celtics.

But with the score tied, and the Wolves having not scored in a while, the ball swung to Mike Conley. Conley hit an open 3 from the corner that felt like a pressure release in a 119-115 victory over the Celtics at Target Center.

The Wolves ended a three-game losing streak with their first victory over a team with a winning record all season. They face another one in San Antonio on Sunday.

The Wolves defense woke up in the second half after giving up 69 points in the first half. Boston scored only 46 points after halftime. That helped the Wolves build a 110-98 lead with 3 minutes, 50 seconds to play.

But a 12-0 Boston run had the score tied at 110-110 with 1:38 to play before Conley hit the 3.

Anthony Edwards (39 points) followed that with a drive to the hoop and a stepback three to seal it for the Wolves, who had six players finish in double figures. Julius Randle had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. The Wolves shot 44% from 3-point range.

Jalen Brown had 41 points for Boston.

Step back for Wolves D

The Wolves didn’t have much interest in getting to the boards in the first quarter. Boston had seven offensive rebounds, six of those coming in the first six minutes of the quarter. Neemias Queta had four of those, and he had eight points and seven rebounds in a first quarter the Celtics led 36-32. Brown had 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting while Edwards had 11.

The lax Wolves defense in the first half enabled Brown to heat up to the tune of 11-for-18. He also added five rebounds and five assists. The Wolves defense had been coming around in the previous 10 games, but Saturday marked a step back for that unit, which struggled to keep up with Brown and the ball movement Boston’s offense generated. Boston shot 56% in the first half, 41% from 3-point range. The Wolves shot 48%, but they trailed 69-59 at the half.

Wolves take lead in third

The Wolves flipped the 10-point deficit into a two-point lead entering the fourth at 94-92. The Wolves shot 8 for 13 from 3-point range in the third as Edwards had 10 points. Randle also added a pair of 3s. The Wolves defense also had its best quarter of the night to that point in limiting Boston to 23.

Welcome back

The game was a homecoming for a pair of former Wolves, Luka Garza and Josh Minott, both of whom signed as free agents with Boston in the offseason. Both signed so they might get playing time elsewhere and that’s proven to be the case, with Garza and Minott both coming off the bench for the Celtics.

Both got a hand from the crowd during pregame introductions. Minott finished with five points in 16 minutes while Garza had three points in five minutes.

Schedule filled out

With the NBA Cup quarterfinals set, the NBA announced games for the other 24 teams. The Wolves will play at Golden State on Dec. 12 and home against Sacramento on Dec. 14. The home game against the Kings will mark the fourth time the Wolves will have played the Kings since the season opened. They are 2-1 against them. It will be their first matchup against the Warriors.

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