Celtics wear down Timberwolves
Heat set a club record for three-pointers attempted, nailing 12 of 42, to down Knicks
Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier combined for 32 points as Boston’s reserves keyed the Celtics’ 91-84 NBA victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
In a hard-fought contest that included 15 lead changes, the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics finally turned the tide late in the third quarter to post their fifth straight win.
Boston had missed 12 of their first 14 shots of the third and were down 55-48 with less than five minutes left in the period. But they made eight of their next 11 shots, closing out the third on a 17-7 scoring run.
The Celtics withstood a 25-point, 23-rebound performance from Minnesota star Karl-Anthony Towns.
Smart’s 18 points on eightof-13 shooting led the Celtics and Rozier added 14 off the bench as Boston’s reserves outscored Minnesota’s 42-20.
Star guard Kyrie Irving led Boston’s starters with 16 points and also pulled down nine rebounds and eight assists.
Irving’s finger-roll layup with 1.6 seconds left in the third pushed the Celtics’ advantage to 66-62 and they wouldn’t surrender the lead in the final quarter.
“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,” Smart said.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens was pleased to see his team hang on despite their offensive struggles.
“To win a game like that against a really good team when you can’t make a shot — that’s a good thing,” Stevens said. “You’re going to have nights like that. You’ve just got to find a way.”
Raptors claw Bucks
The Toronto Raptors used a big third quarter — including 20 points from Jonas Valanciunas — to beat the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time in five days, 129-110. Valanciunas, benched in the second quarter after finding himself in quick foul trouble and failing to score in the first, responded in the third, when the Raptors out-scored the Bucks 43-19.
The Miami Heat, who endured an embarrassing 29-point defeat at the hands of the New York Knicks in November, turned the tables with a 107-103 overtime triumph.
Wayne Ellington led Miami with 24 points and made six of a franchise-record 16 three-point attempts.
Overall the Heat set a club record for three-pointers attempted, making 12 of 42 from beyond the arc. Goran Dragic had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists. Josh Richardson’s 18 points included six free throws late in regulation and in overtime.