Wolves finally nail down victory to edge Celtics

Everybody knew it shouldn't have come to this: Watching Marcus Smart's wide-open three-pointer head toward the basket as the clock ticked down. Able to do nothing but hope it wouldn't go in. Knowing that if it did …

"We'd have been crushed," Shabazz Muhammad said.

It didn't.

So after a 124-122 victory over Boston at Target Center on Monday, the Timberwolves were able to smile, at least a little. It was a victory, after all, over a team that is in the upper echelon of the NBA's Eastern Conference — a victory that ended a two-game Wolves losing streak, thanks to a season high in points.

After all, it's easier to learn a lesson with a win, right?

Well, perhaps not.

"I'm upset," said rookie center Karl-Anthony Towns. Indomitable all night, determined to take advantage of the Wolves' size advantage, Towns scored 28 points with 13 rebounds and four assists. "It should never have gotten to that point. We have to get better. We have to close out better.''

It did get unnecessarily tight.

Up 10 points with 1 minute, 22 seconds left after Andrew Wiggins hit two free throws, the Wolves almost frittered it away. The Celtics went small, went fast, and almost came all the way back.

The Wolves missed two shots and went 4-for-8 on free throws over the final 82 seconds. At the other end, Isaiah Thomas scored six points and the Celtics got three-pointers from Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley, the latter of which pulled Boston within a point. After Zach LaVine made one free throw with 5.3 seconds left the Celtics — who had no timeouts left — were able to bring the ball up court and get a good look from Smart for the potential game-winner, which went long.

"Too many mistakes with the game on the line," said Ricky Rubio, who missed two free throws with the Wolves up four and 10.3 seconds left. "We're lucky we pulled it out.''

But on a night when the team got a much-needed victory, there were positives. With LaVine back in the starting lineup, the Wolves shot 51.8 percent, hit on eight of 15 threes and had all five starters in double figures. Wiggins and Gorgui Dieng each had 17 points and Dieng added 12 rebounds. LaVine scored 16 and Rubio had 15 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

That was enough to hold off the Celtics at the end. Crowder scored 27 points to lead Boston, and Bradley added 22. Thomas, held to seven points through three quarters, finished with 18.

"We're starting to play like we were before the [All-Star] break," Rubio said. "We can be a really good team. But we also realize that the game is not over until the end. Too many mistakes, too many free throws missed.''

In an up-and-down game the Wolves had double-figure leads in all four quarters. A 16-point first-quarter lead turned into a one-point deficit early in the second. Up 11 late in the first half, Boston drew within two early in the third quarter.

The Wolves were up nine entering the fourth, and ahead by 13 with 6:51 left.

It's never easy.

But interim coach Sam Mitchell was determined to hold onto the positive. Rookie backup guard Tyus Jones survived a rough early stretch with some strong play. He finished with a career-high nine points in nearly 16 minutes of court time.

The Wolves took advantage of a size advantage to get a combined 45 points and 25 rebounds from Towns and Dieng.

"Everybody who played tonight did something positive for us to win," Mitchell said.

And now the Wolves embark on a three-game road trip against three winning teams with at least a small boost in confidence. It wasn't pretty Monday. But it was a win.

"It's all great to win,'' Towns said. "But it's better to do it in a better fashion.''