The Minnesota Timberwolves weren’t able to extend the Boston Celtics’ losing streak, nor could they contain a dominant Jaylen Brown performance in crunch time.
In the second quarter of action, Brown finished a layup off the glass in traffic. Naz Reid fouled him in the process, which lead to a fired-up Brown and Boston crowd. Instantly, the two went chest-to-chest and exchanged words before being separated with no further confrontation. The officials also issued a technical foul to a disgruntled Reid, who continued to chat.
After the game, Brown addressed what went down. He noted that Reid began the chatter in the first quarter and didn’t recall a word from the Timberwolves center.
“I don’t really do too much talking,” Brown told reporters, per NBC Sports Boston video. “So, I made the shot. I think he had blocked my shot in the first quarter and he had said something. So when I made this one, I looked at him and I just looked at him. And I didn’t even have to say nothing, he just knew what that look meant. Then he walked over to me and was talking.
“To be honest, I ain’t hear nothing bro said. I wasn’t even focused on that.”
Unfortunately for the Timberwolves, words wouldn’t be enough to stop Brown. He dropped a game-leading 36 points alongside seven rebounds, three assists and one block. Brown also supplied the Celtics with an unstoppable 23-point fourth quarter.
As for Reid, while not nearly as dominant, he was still serviceable. The veteran led Minnesota’s bench with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five rebounds and two blocks.
As a result, the Celtics walked off the floor with an easy 121-109 win to snap their three-game losing skid. Boston also returned atop the Eastern Conference with sole possession of the NBA’s best record (23-10). Meanwhile, the Timberwolves lost their second straight and dropped below the .500 mark (16-17) on the season.
