CELTICS SEAL IT IN FOURTH QUARTER

BOSTON» Defense dominated as Boston went back and forth with Minnesota for three quarters.

The fourth belonged to the Celtics, who pulled away early in the final period and held off the Timberwolves 91-84 on Friday night.

“We just stuck with it and the defense came and gave us a victory,” said Marcus Smart, who led Boston with 18 points. “Tonight was one of those games where every last one of us from the starters to the guys coming in off the bench were ready.”

Kyrie Irving had 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Aron Baynes had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Jaylen Brown also scored 11 for Boston.

Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves with 25 points and a career-high 23 rebounds. Jimmy Butler scored 14, Jamal Crawford had 13 points and Andrew Wiggins scored 10 for Minnesota, which lost back-to-back games for the first time since November.

FRIDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili each scored 21 points and the Spurs beat the Suns 103-89 for their ninth straight win at home over the Suns. Ginobili joined Vince Carter as the only 40year-old players to score 20 points off the bench. … Wayne Ellington scored 24 points, Goran Dragic added 19 and the Heat survived a back-and-forth flurry in the final minutes to beat the Knicks 107-103 in overtime. … Jonas Valanciunas scored all of his 20 points in the decisive third quarter and the Raptors beat the Bucks for the second time this week, 129-110. … Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid almost outproduced Detroit in the first half and sparked the 76ers to a mammoth lead in a 114-78 romp over the Pistons. … Kris Dunn’s 32point effort helped the Bulls edge the Mavericks 127-124. Dunn also recorded nine assists. … Bradley Beal scored 34 points as the Wizards beat the Grizzlies

102-100.

FOOTNOTE

Rose could return during trip.

Out of the lineup for nearly two months with a left ankle injury, Cavaliers guard Derrick Rose said Friday “there’s a chance” he will return to action during his team’s current five-game road trip. Rose, signed to a veteran’s minimum deal in the offseason, is averaging 14.3 points on 47 percent shooting along with 2.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists in seven appearances this season. He last played Nov. 7.