In a back-and-forth affair, the Celtics were able to come away with a 101-97 win over the Timberwolves Monday night at TD Garden. It was the second straight win for the C's as they improve to 12-14 on the year and 7-6 at home.
Having one of his best games of the year, Jared Sullinger led the way for the Celtics finishing with a double-double, recording 24 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and 11 rebounds while playing a game-high 36 minutes. Avery Bradley added 19 points while Jordan Crawford contributed 15 points in the win. The Celtics were able to pull out the four-point win despite getting beaten badly in the turnover battle 13-7.
For the Timberwolves, Kevin Love had 27 points and 14 rebounds in a losing effort.
The Celtics will be back at the TD Garden Wednesday night (7:30, CSNNE) when they will host the Pistons.
What they'll be saying: Even with their 12-14 record the Celtics continue to sit atop the Atlantic Division standings and are starting to develop an identity under coach Brad Stevens. Games like Monday show how talented Sullinger is, just in his second year in the league he's showing what a tremendous offensive force he can be as displayed in the fourth quarter where he seemingly took the game over. As in many of their wins, the C's were able to get it done on the defensive end, holding the visitors to just 38 percent shooting from the field.
