MINNEAPOLIS -- — Jayson Tatum had 33 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-115 on Thursday night.

Derrick White scored 26 points for Boston, while Sam Hauser — filling in for the injured Jaylen Brown — hit five 3-pointers and scored 15 points.

Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Naz Reid added 20 points off the bench, while Jaden McDaniels had 19 points and eight boards.

The Timberwolves trailed by eight with two minutes to play but they had a chance to send it into overtime. However, Anthony Edwards' 3-pointer fell short at the buzzer.

Takeaways

Celtics: After winning 16 of its first 19 games, Boston had a ho-hum 8-6 record in December. A victory in Minnesota was a great way to kick off a four-game road trip to start 2025.

Timberwolves: Minnesota began the week with a chance to test itself against one of the heavy hitters in each conference. After a 113-105 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, the Timberwolves came up just short against the Celtics.

Key moment

With the Celtics leading 46-45 midway through the second quarter, Tatum hit the second of two free throws, then drained 3-pointers on Boston's next two possessions. That was part of a 16-6 run to close the second quarter, sending the Celtics into the locker room with a 62-51 lead.

Key stat

Boston committed just four turnovers while the Timberwolves turned it over 16 times on the night.

Up next

The Celtics visit Houston on Friday while the Timberwolves face the Pistons in Detroit on Saturday.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Al Horford vs. Rudy Gobert (Jaden McDaniels gains possession)	0	0
11:47	Anthony Edwards misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	0	0
11:44	Jaden McDaniels offensive rebound	0	0
11:40	Julius Randle misses 24-foot three point jumper	0	0
11:35	Sam Hauser defensive rebound	0	0
11:28	Jrue Holiday misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	0	0
11:26	Julius Randle defensive rebound	0	0
11:16	Sam Hauser shooting foul	0	0
11:16	Jaden McDaniels makes free throw 1 of 2	1	0
11:16	Jaden McDaniels makes free throw 2 of 2	2	0
10:56	Derrick White misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	2	0
10:52	Jaden McDaniels defensive rebound	2	0
10:40	Anthony Edwards misses 24-foot three point jumper	2	0
10:38	Jrue Holiday defensive rebound	2	0
10:32	Sam Hauser misses 24-foot three point shot	2	0
10:30	Rudy Gobert defensive rebound	2	0
10:23	Julius Randle makes 24-foot three point step back jumpshot	5	0
10:04	Jayson Tatum misses 24-foot three point pullup jump shot	5	0
10:01	Sam Hauser offensive rebound	5	0
10:00	Derrick White misses 25-foot three point jumper	5	0
9:58	Julius Randle defensive rebound	5	0
9:48	Julius Randle out of bounds bad pass turnover	5	0
9:43	Jrue Holiday misses 24-foot three point jumper	5	0
9:39	Jaden McDaniels defensive rebound	5	0
9:36	Jayson Tatum shooting foul	5	0
9:36	Anthony Edwards makes free throw 1 of 2	6	0
9:36	Anthony Edwards makes free throw 2 of 2	7	0
9:22	Al Horford makes alley oop layup (Jayson Tatum assists)	7	2
9:11	Julius Randle makes 24-foot three point jumper (Mike Conley assists)	10	2
8:57	Derrick White makes 22-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	10	5
8:37	Jaden McDaniels makes 22-foot three point jumper (Julius Randle assists)	13	5
8:24	Jrue Holiday makes layup (Sam Hauser assists)	13	7
8:03	Mike Conley makes 22-foot three point jumper (Jaden McDaniels assists)	16	7
8:02	Celtics Full timeout	16	7
7:43	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup	16	9
7:24	Julius Randle makes driving layup	18	9
7:16	Sam Hauser makes 22-foot three pointer (Jayson Tatum assists)	18	12
7:01	Anthony Edwards makes driving layup (Mike Conley assists)	20	12
6:50	Jayson Tatum makes 25-foot three pointer (Sam Hauser assists)	20	15
6:34	Mike Conley misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	20	15
6:32	Jaden McDaniels offensive rebound	20	15
6:23	Jaden McDaniels makes 25-foot three point jumper (Julius Randle assists)	23	15
6:09	Jrue Holiday misses 25-foot three point jumper	23	15
6:06	Anthony Edwards defensive rebound	23	15
5:56	Anthony Edwards lost ball turnover (Jayson Tatum steals)	23	15
5:53	Naz Reid enters the game for Mike Conley	23	15
5:53	Nickeil Alexander-Walker enters the game for Julius Randle	23	15
5:53	Luke Kornet enters the game for Al Horford	23	15
5:53	Payton Pritchard enters the game for Derrick White	23	15
5:43	Payton Pritchard makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jrue Holiday assists)	23	18
5:17	Anthony Edwards misses 11-foot two point shot	23	18
5:14	Luke Kornet defensive rebound	23	18
5:05	Jrue Holiday makes 23-foot three point jumper (Luke Kornet assists)	23	21
4:55	Naz Reid makes 26-foot three point jumper (Anthony Edwards assists)	26	21
4:37	Jrue Holiday makes 25-foot three point jumper (Payton Pritchard assists)	26	24
4:14	Nickeil Alexander-Walker misses 12-foot two point shot	26	24
4:12	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	26	24
4:05	Payton Pritchard misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	26	24
4:02	Rudy Gobert defensive rebound	26	24
3:50	Anthony Edwards makes 25-foot three pointer	29	24
3:21	Jayson Tatum misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	29	24
3:18	Anthony Edwards defensive rebound	29	24
2:59	Jaden McDaniels misses 15-foot pullup jump shot	29	24
2:56	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	29	24
2:36	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	29	24
2:34	Jaden McDaniels defensive rebound	29	24
2:34	Timberwolves Full timeout	29	24
2:34	Jaden McDaniels out of bounds bad pass turnover	29	24
2:34	Donte DiVincenzo enters the game for Jaden McDaniels	29	24
2:34	Julius Randle enters the game for Anthony Edwards	29	24
2:34	Josh Minott enters the game for Rudy Gobert	29	24
2:34	Jordan Walsh enters the game for Sam Hauser	29	24
2:27	Josh Minott blocks Jayson Tatum 's 2-foot driving layup	29	24
2:27	Celtics offensive team rebound	29	24
2:16	Jayson Tatum misses two point shot	29	24
2:14	Naz Reid defensive rebound	29	24
2:07	Josh Minott bad pass (Jayson Tatum steals)	29	24
2:01	Jayson Tatum bad pass	29	24
2:01	Jrue Holiday loose ball foul	29	24
1:53	Luke Kornet shooting foul	29	24
1:53	Naz Reid makes free throw 1 of 2	30	24
1:53	Al Horford enters the game for Jrue Holiday	30	24
1:53	Naz Reid makes free throw 2 of 2	31	24
1:33	Luke Kornet makes alley oop layup (Jayson Tatum assists)	31	26
1:33	Julius Randle shooting foul	31	26
1:33	Luke Kornet makes free throw 1 of 1	31	27
1:15	Julius Randle makes 14-foot step back jumpshot	33	27
59.0	Jayson Tatum misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	33	27
56.1	Al Horford offensive rebound	33	27
53.1	Jordan Walsh misses 22-foot three point jumper	33	27
51.0	Donte DiVincenzo defensive rebound	33	27
41.2	Josh Minott misses 22-foot three point jumper	33	27
39.0	Luke Kornet defensive rebound	33	27
33.0	Nickeil Alexander-Walker personal foul	33	27
33.0	Payton Pritchard misses free throw 1 of 2	33	27
33.0	Celtics offensive team rebound	33	27
33.0	Payton Pritchard makes free throw 2 of 2	33	28
17.1	Luke Kornet shooting foul	33	28
17.1	Josh Minott makes free throw 1 of 2	34	28
17.1	Jaden McDaniels enters the game for Naz Reid	34	28
17.1	Sam Hauser enters the game for Jordan Walsh	34	28
17.1	Josh Minott makes free throw 2 of 2	35	28
1.1	Payton Pritchard misses 27-foot three point step back jumpshot	35	28
0.1	Celtics offensive team rebound	35	28
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	35	28

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Target Center

Minneapolis, MN

Date & Time

12:30 AM, January 3, 2025

Coverage

TNT, NBC Sports BO

Attendance

18,978

Referees

Zach Zarba, CJ Washington, Matt Kallio

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Boston	39	20	.661	W1
New York	38	22	.633	W1
Toronto	35	25	.583	W1
Philadelphia	33	26	.559	W3
Brooklyn	15	44	.254	L7

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

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Jayson Tatum's big night lifts short-handed Celtics past Timberwolves 118-115

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