Minnesota Timberwolves (43-28) at Boston Celtics (47-23)
Sunday, March 22, 2026
8:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #71, Home Game #35
TV: NBC/Peacock
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, KFAN, Sirius XM
TD Garden
The Celtics look to win their 5th straight game as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is the 2nd, and final, game this season. The Wolves won the first game 119-115 in Minnesota on November 29. The Celtics won the series 2-0 last season. The Celtics are 47-23 overall all time against the Wolves and 26-8
in games played in Boston. The Celtics have won 18 straight games against the Timberwolves in Boston.
Both teams are a little different since they met the first time. The Celtics have added Jayson Tatum and lost Josh Minott, Chris Boucher and Xavier Tillman. They also added Nikola Vucevic who is injured and won’t play in this game. The Wolves traded Mike Conley, Rob Dillingham, and Leonard Miller for Ayo Dosunmo and Julian Phillips. They re-signed Conley after he was traded again and waived.
The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 1.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 4 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 7.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 8.5 games ahead of 6th place Orlando, and 9 games ahead of 7th place Atlanta. The Celtics are 18-9 against Western Conference opponents. They are 24-10 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 4 games. (The Heat, Magic, Hawks, and Cavaliers are playing as I write this so this may change.)
The Timberwolves are 6th in the West, 12.5 games behind 1st place OKC, 9.5 games behind 2nd place San Antonio, and 2.5 games behind the 3rd place Los Angeles Lakers. They are tied with 4th place Houston and 5th place Denver. They are 3.5 games ahead of 7th place Phoenix. They are 16-7 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 19-15 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a loss in their last game.
After this game at home against Minnesota, the Celtics will host Oklahoma City and Atlanta to complete a 3 game home stand. Then it’s back on the road for a 4 game trip through Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami and Milwaukee. They will then play two games at home against Toronto and Charlotte before one game on the road at New York. They will finish the season with 2 games at home against New Orleans and Orlando.
After this game in Boston, the Timberwolves return home for games against Houston and Detroit. They then go on a 3 game road trip through Dallas, Detroit and Philadelphia. Then, it’s one game at home against Charlotte before heading out on the road again through Indiana, Orlando, and Houston. They will then finish the season at New Orleans.
For the Celtics, Nikola Vucevic remains out after surgery to stabilize a fracture in his right ring finger. Jaylen Brown is listed as probable due to a left quad contusion. John Tonje is out for G-League assignment. For the Timberwolves, Anthony Edwards is out with right knee inflammation. Naz Reid is questionable due to a sprained ankle and will be a game time decision.
Probable Starting Matchups
PG: Derrick White vs Donte DiVincenzo
SG: Jaylen Brown vs Ayo Dosunmu
SF: Sam Hauser vs Jake McDaniels
PF: Jayson Tatum vs Julius Randle
C: Neemias Queta vs Rudy Gobert
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Jordan Walsh
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Charles Bassey (10-Day)
2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Injuries/Out
Nikola Vucevic (finger) out
John Tonje (G-League) out
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Timberwolves Reserves
Kyle Anderson
Joan Beringer
Jaylen Clark
Mike Conley
Bones Hyland
Joe Ingles
Julian Phillips
Terrance Shannon, Jr
Two-Way Players
Enrique Freeman
Zyon Pullin
Rocco Zikarsky
Injuries/Out
Anthony Edwards (knee) out
Naz Reid (ankle) questionable
Head Coach
Chris Finch
Key Matchups
Jayson Tatum vs Julius Randle
Randle is averaging 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, Randle finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 46.2% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics have to guard Randle both in the paint and on the perimeter as he is very good from both.
Sam Hauser vs Jaden McDaniels
McDaniels is averaging 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 block per game. He is shooting 51.8% from the field and 41.6% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 steal while shooting 37.5% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. He is shooting very well, especially from the perimeter and so the Celtics will need to defend him well.
Honorable Mention
Neemias Queta vs Rudy Gobert
Gobert is averaging 11.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks. He is shooting 69.8% from the field and 0% on 3 pointers. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 83.3% from the field with no 3’s. Hopefully the Celtics can pull Gobert away from the basket as he is a very good rebounder and rim protector.
Keys to the Game
Defense Defense Defense!! Defense is the key to winning every game. The Timberwolves have an offensive rating of 116.2 (11th) while the Celtics have an offensive rating of 119.7 (2nd). The Celtics are 4th with a defensive rating of 111.7 while the Wolves have a defensive rating of 112.7 (9th). When the Celtics are focused and put their minds to it, they are very tough to score on (see the 4th quarter of the last game against the Grizzlies) but at times, they lose focus and allow the opposing team to score way too much (see the 1st 3 quarters in their game against the Grizzlies). The Celtics have got to stay focused and play tough team defense for all 4 quarters if they hope to get a win in this game.
Rebound – The Celtics are averaging 46.4 rebounds per game (4th) to 44.4 rebounds per game for the Timberwolves (11th). The Celtics will need to crash the boards to keep the Wolves from getting extra possessions and second chance points. The Celtics are 36-9 when they out-rebound their opponents and just 9-13 when they are out-rebounded. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics have got to work harder on the boards than the Wolves.
Effort and Energy – Against several teams this season, the Celtics have lacked energy (see first 3 quarters of their last game). They have allowed teams they should have blown out to either beat them or make it a close game. Along with putting out more effort and energy, the Celtics must put that effort into playing team ball. They escaped with a win over the Grizzlies, but if they don’t play harder in this one they may not be as lucky.
Move the Ball – The Celtics are tough to beat when they keep the ball moving and find the open man but when one player over dribbles and lapses into hero ball, they falter. The Celtics are 28-0 when they have more assists than their opponent but just 17-21 when they have fewer assists than their opponent. Keep the ball moving and don’t lapse into hero ball, whether in the first quarter or the 4th quarter. They have to make careful passes, however, because the Wolves average 18.4 points off turnovers per game.
X-Factors
It’s Home Court Advantage for a Reason – There is a reason why they call it home court advantage. The Celtics have the crowd behind them and if they give a good effort, the fans will cheer them on and help to motivate them. The Wolves had to travel, stay in a hotel, play in front of a hostile crowd and on an unfamiliar court. The Celtics need to come out with effort and protect their home court.
Officiating – Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus on playing the game. The Celtics can’t let the officiating get into their heads.
