A historic performance by Jaylen Brown and a career-best game from Neemias Queta were wasted by the Boston Celtics in a 119-115 loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
The Celtics won’t have time to pout, though, as they travel to Cleveland on Sunday to take on the Cavaliers.
Boston erased a 110-98 deficit late in the fourth quarter, tying the score on a 12-0 run with 1:38 remaining, only to have Anthony Edwards and Mike Conley respond and push the Timberwolves to the victory.
Brown amassed 41 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals, while Queta matched his pro high with 19 points and grabbed a career-best 18 rebounds — twice as many as anyone else in uniform.
“We had some elite shot-making, but we’ve got to continue to work on creating those advantages throughout the ballgame,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It’s just the consistency we need to work on against bigger, more physical teams.”
Brown became the second Boston player with at least 40 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals in a game, joining Basketball Hall of Fame member Larry Bird, who accomplished it twice.
Brown, a four-time All-Star, also produced the only first half with 27 points, five boards, five assists and three steals since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data 28 years ago.
Queta continued his breakout season with his best game yet, returning to action six days after spraining his left ankle in a game against the Orlando Magic. The fifth-year center is averaging career highs of 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds this season.
“We’re a different team when he’s on the floor,” Mazzulla said of Queta. “He’s getting better and is giving us a shot. Tonight, you saw a clear difference when he was out there to keep us in the ballgame.”
The Celtics rolled to a 125-105 home victory over the Cavaliers on Oct. 29, handing them their largest defeat of the season.
That loss also stood as the low point of Cleveland’s campaign until Friday, when it was beaten 130-123 at the Atlanta Hawks. The Cavaliers had their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen healthy and reunited for the game.
“We weren’t sharp, and they outplayed us and outcoached us,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “Things don’t get corrected overnight, but we have not done a good job.”
Cleveland arrived in Atlanta holding the East wild card spot in the NBA Cup, but was eliminated from contention, despite a 42-point outburst by franchise player Mitchell and 20 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists from Mobley.
Cleveland has lost two in a row, fell out of a top-four spot in the conference and is a middling 4-5 on the road. Atlanta’s point total was the most allowed by the Cavaliers in regulation through 20 games.
Allen already has been declared out against the Celtics with his lingering right finger sprain and Lonzo Ball will rest his chronically injured left knee.
“We showed the guys a number of clips at halftime (in Atlanta) where they literally were just running by us,” Atkinson lamented. “It’s pretty obvious that our transition defense is where we’re really letting each other down.”
