On January 3, 2025, Beijing time, the NBA regular season saw the 17-win and 15-loss Timberwolves host the 24-win and 9-loss Celtics. Although the Celtics had a significant record advantage, they had lost four of their last seven games and were in poor form. Additionally, Brown and Porzingis were not playing for the Celtics today, which gave the Timberwolves an advantage. Could the Timberwolves defeat the Celtics? The Timberwolves' starting lineup was Conley, Edwards, McDaniels, Randle, and Gobert, while the Celtics' starting lineup was Holiday, White, Hauser, Tatum, and Horford.
In the first quarter, McDaniels, Randle, and Edwards scored 7-0, followed by points from Horford, White, and Holiday. Randle, McDaniels, and Conley then hit consecutive three-pointers, leading to a Timberwolves timeout with a score of 16-7. After the timeout, Tatum and Hauser scored continuously, to which Randle, McDaniels, and Edwards responded, maintaining an 8-point lead. Pritchard and Holiday hit three-pointers to reduce the gap to 2 points. Reid also hit a three-pointer, but Holiday responded with another three-pointer, keeping the gap at 2 points. Edwards and Reid extended the lead to 7 points, but Kornet and Pritchard scored back, to which Randle and Minott responded. At the end of the first quarter, the Timberwolves led 35-28.
In the second quarter, Hauser hit two consecutive three-pointers and White made a layup, allowing the Celtics to go on an 8-0 run and take a 1-point lead. DiVincenzo and Randle hit three-pointers, while Horford and Hauser responded, leveling the score. After a timeout, Randle and Gobert scored, but Pritchard and Tatum responded with consecutive points, giving the Celtics an 8-point lead. Gobert and Edwards scored back, but White and Kornet continued to score, extending the lead to 13 points. McDaniels made a mid-range shot, and at halftime, the Celtics led 62-51.
In the third quarter, Holiday hit a three-pointer, extending the Celtics' lead to 14 points. Randle responded with a three-pointer, but White hit another three-pointer, maintaining the 14-point lead. Randle, Gobert, and Conley reduced the gap to 8 points, but Tatum made a mid-range shot. McDaniels and Randle scored 5 points in a row, reducing the gap to 5 points. Hauser and Tatum scored again, but McDaniels hit two consecutive three-pointers, reducing the gap to 4 points. Kornet and Tatum extended the lead to 8 points again, but Reid hit a three-pointer. Tatum hit two consecutive three-pointers and Kornet made an alley-oop, extending the lead to 13 points. Reid scored 5 points in a row, reducing the gap to 8 points. Tatum scored 4 more points, but Reid, Randle, and Minott responded, reducing the gap to 6 points. At the end of the third quarter, the Celtics led 91-85. Tatum scored 16 points in this quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Minott made a dunk, reducing the gap to 4 points. White made a 2+1 play, extending the lead to 7 points. DiVincenzo hit two consecutive three-pointers and Reid made free throws, allowing the Timberwolves to tie the score. After a timeout, Kornet made a layup, but Walker responded with a three-pointer, giving the Timberwolves a 1-point lead. White made a mid-range shot to regain the lead by 1 point, but Walker made 1 of 2 free throws. Tatum hit a three-pointer, giving the Celtics a 3-point lead and forcing a timeout. After the timeout, Edwards made a mid-range shot, reducing the gap to 1 point. White and Kornet extended the lead to 5 points, but Randle hit a three-pointer. Horford scored 5 points in a row, extending the lead to 7 points. Edwards made 1 of 2 free throws, but Tatum made a mid-range shot, extending the lead to 8 points. Edwards and Reid hit three-pointers, but White responded with two consecutive three-pointers, maintaining the 8-point lead with 2 minutes left. Reid made a putback and DiVincenzo made 3 of 3 free throws, reducing the gap to 3 points with 28 seconds left. Tatum missed a mid-range shot with 3 seconds left, and after a timeout, Edwards missed a three-pointer, ending the game with the Celtics winning 118-115 over the Timberwolves, achieving a comeback victory after trailing in the first quarter.
Tatum scored 33 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals on 13 of 27 shooting. White scored 26 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists on 10 of 20 shooting. Hauser scored 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Holiday scored 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists. Horford scored 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Edwards scored 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists on 5 of 16 shooting, with poor efficiency. Randle scored 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists on 9 of 16 shooting (5 of 7 from three-point range), with a +10 plus/minus, performing outstandingly. McDaniels scored 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. Reid scored 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. DiVincenzo scored 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Before the start of this season, the Timberwolves traded away Towns, believing that building the team around Edwards could lead to success. However, Edwards has not performed well this season, while Towns has played at a top level with the Knicks. The Timberwolves management should realize the reality: Towns' value has been severely underestimated. Last season, Towns sacrificed his own statistics to help Edwards shine.