Celtics Stay Undefeated With Slim Win Over Timberwolves

As much as Kevin Garnett means to this Celtics offense, it was the Big Ticket's defense that made the play of the game in the C's slim 92-90 victory over the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

Garnett and the Celtics were trailing for the majority of the contest against Al Jefferson and Garnett's former team but Boston outscored the T-Wolves 51-41 in the second half, dropping 31 in the third quarter alone, en route to their sixth straight victory to open the season.

All five of Boston's starters reached double digits in points while the C's bench outscored Minnesota's 25-14.

Celtics 92, Timberwolves 90
Target Center, Minneapolis, Minn.
Nov. 4, 2009

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Headliner: Rajon Rondo led the C’s attack with a season-high 18 points — including 14 in the third quarter — to go with six assists. The guard also came away with a game-high three steals in just under 35 minutes of action.

Unsung Hero: Oleksiy Pecherov led all scorers with a career-high 24 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The third-year Ukrainian sank 9-of-14 shot attempts and yanked down eight boards in the loss.

In addition to his game-saving defensive play with just a few ticks remaining, Garnett dropped 12 points and snared 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and first since opening night in Cleveland.

Scrub: Minnesota wasn't feeling the long ball as the Wolves hit just 2-of-11 (.182 percent) attempts from behind the arc, but the Celtics couldn't hit from closer in, as they shot just .684 (13-for-19) from the free-throw line.

Turning Point: With the final seconds of the third quarter ticking away, sniper Eddie House drained a 3-pointer to tie things up at 72 apiece heading into the final frame. The C’s were down 49-41 at halftime but struck for 31 points in the third en route to their come-from-behind win.

Up by two with less than four seconds to go in the contest, Kevin Garnett cleanly tied up a driving Corey Brewer to draw a jump ball rather than take a foul that would have given the T-Wolves guard a chance to tie things up.

Up Next: After a quick two-game road trip, the C’s return to the North End to host the Suns at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.

Last year the C’s took both games from the Suns, including a 104-87 romping at the Garden in mid-January – a game in which Rajon Rondo drained a game-high 23 points and dished out seven assists while Ray Allen was a cool 4-for-5 from behind the arc on his way to 20 points.

Allen has had impressive numbers in 29 career games against the Suns, posting 22.7 points and four assists per game while Paul Pierce (26.4 PPG) and Kevin Garnett (20.2 PPG, 11.8 RPG) both have impressive numbers against the Suns as well.

Phoenix started the season 4-0, with a one-game lead over the Lakers in the Pacific Division but the Suns blew its unbeaten streak on Wednesday night in Orlando when the Magic trampled them 122-100.