Mike Conley delivers ‘biggest shot of the year’ for Timberwolves in victory over Celtics

The nightmare was happening all over again.

The Timberwolves, losers of three consecutive close games (including two they just gave away) had let all of a 12-point lead go to the visiting Celtics. They hadn’t hit a shot in 2 minutes, 38 seconds as Boston tied it up.

“I think people were like, ‘Not again,’ the way the game was flowing at that time,” point guard Mike Conley said.

Conley had his chance to rectify that. Coach Chris Finch said afterward “shame on me” for not having the adult in the room, Conley, on the floor in more late-game situations recently — and Conley proved why he can help in those moments.

Julius Randle swung the ball to an open Conley in the left corner, and with the weight of the last week on the team’s shoulders, Conley drained a three-pointer that broke the tie and sparked the Wolves (11-8) to their first victory against a team with a winning record this season.

Afterward, Conley, who only had two field goals (six points), joked it was the “biggest shot of the year.” But in all seriousness, it actually was.

“We had some good looks and just wasn’t making them, so to finally get a good one to go at that time of the game was big,” Conley said.

Edwards had a competitive duel going with fellow Atlanta native Jaylen Brown, who had 41 points, 27 in a first half that Boston finish with 69 points. At one point, Brown hit Edwards with the “too short” taunt after hitting a bank shot over him.

“I’m like bruh, that might’ve been the luckiest shot ever,” Edwards said. “He said that’s not luck, that’s hard work. I was like, ‘Yeah, let me find somebody that work on shooting a fadeaway from the elbow going off the glass.’

“He was making a bunch of tough shots. That’s my boy. I was talking trash with him the whole game. He kind of woke me up when he told me I was too small.”

And Brown’s big first half woke up the Wolves defense, which held Boston to just 46 in the second half. That was the main reason the Wolves erased a 12-point deficit of their own to take a 110-98 prior to squeaking by in the final minutes.

“Third quarter, you can see us fighting a little more, getting into bodies more and that half-a-second can disrupt their whole offense,” said Donte DiVincenzo (15 points, eight assists). “That’s who we need to play every single minute we’re out there.”

“With no designated point guard, I think I got to be the one to bring the ball up,” Edwards said after Wednesday’s loss to Oklahoma City. “It’s just that simple. So we don’t turn it over, get us into action, get my teammates shots.”

BOXSCORE: Wolves 119, Boston 115

NBA standings

Conley can help with that, with Edwards saying he likes when Conley can bring the ball up and he can start off the ball.

“The whole game I got 10 eyes on me,” Edwards said. “At the end of the game, I know I need the ball in my hands to be able to get a shot off and I think it’s better if I’m coming off the ball at the bottom of the floor.”