MINNEAPOLIS – Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from Boston’s 117-109 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves which clinched a playoff berth for the fourth straight season.
STARS
Kyrie Irving: Down the stretch, Boston needed buckets and Irving was up to delivering. He scored eight of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter with makes on all three of his field goal attempts.
Nemanja Bjelica: A 6.1 points per game scorer this season, the 29-year-old power forward had a game to remember, tallying a career-high 30 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go with 12 rebounds and two assists.
Al Horford: The numbers suggest Al Horford had a good game. But the eye test reveals it was one of his best this season, tallying 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go with six assists and a blocked shot along with having a plus/minus of +13 which was tops among all Celtics starters.
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STUDS
Boston Celtics
Marcus Morris: While it’s likely too late for serious consideration, Marcus Morris is making a strong push for some consideration for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year. He has been a matchup nightmare for opponents now that he’s healthy, with Thursday’s win over Minnesota being the latest strong performance for the 6-foot-9 forward. He had 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range to go along with five rebounds.
Terry Rozier: He continues to provide a nice balance of scoring and strong defense when he’s on the floor. Rozier had 13 points off the bench on 5-for-10 shooting, along with grabbing four rebounds.
Karl-Anthony Towns: Big KAT wasn’t purring along with any kind of impact most of Thursday’s game. Still, he did enough things to remind us all why he was an all-star last month and stands out as one of the league’s best young bigs. He tallied a double-double of 15 points on 5-for-12 shooting along with 11 rebounds.
Taj Gibson: One of the more consistent performers all game for the Timberwolves was Taj Gibson. He finished with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting while also grabbing four rebounds.
DUDS
Andrew Wiggins: The absence of Jimmy Butler (right knee meniscus surgery) was supposed to be Wiggins’ green light to put up big numbers and assume a greater leadership role. Wiggins struggled mightily against the Celtics, scoring 13 points on 6-for-21 shooting. He grabbed seven rebounds but turned the ball over four times and had a plus/minus of -11.