The Celtics' season-opening win streak was snapped Monday, as Boston fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a pretty fun overtime clash at Target Center.
In a game where the Celtics' star-studded offense matched up with the Timberwolves' stifling defense, it was Minnesota star Anthony Edwards who made the difference. The 22-year-old scored 38 points on 15-for-25 shooting, helping his squad pull away in the extra period while Boston struggled to calm itself down following Joe Mazzulla's decision not to call a timeout.
It was the kind of game neither team really deserved to lose, but one had to. In this case, it was the NBA's last remaining unbeaten team, which some in Boston believe is a good thing.
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“I think it's great," Celtics star Kristaps Porzingis said postgame, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. "Sometimes when you're winning, you keep growing, growing, growing. But you either win or you learn. We're going to learn something from tonight. We could have executed better at the end. We did some things differently throughout the game, but it's the losses like this that a team grows the most.
"We needed this. Every team needs this. We needed it probably the most because we (were) undefeated and (the Timberwolves) are playing well."
That's quite the stance from Porzingis, who certainly wasn't bothered by his first loss in a Celtics uniform. Boston is just six games into the season, so in the long run this contest won't matter. But it's going to be hard convincing Celtics fans it was a "great" game.
The C's will have an opportunity to bounce back Wednesday when they take on the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.
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Featured image via Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports Images