National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 110, Boston 100
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, April 1, 2013
Where: Target Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: #36 David Jones, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #50 Olandis Poole
Attendance: 14546
Timberwolves 110, Celtics 100: Nikola Pekovic scored 29 points to lead host Minnesota to a victory over shorthanded Boston.

The Celtics played their sixth straight game without Kevin Garnett and also missed Paul Pierce, who has a sore ankle. Without its two leaders, Boston shot 51.9 percent but offered little resistance on the other end of the floor.

Dante Cunningham scored 19 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 17 for the Timberwolves, who have won four of their last seven after a 3-12 stretch.

Minnesota never trailed after Pekovic had a personal 6-0 run midway through the first quarter and led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter. The Celtics pulled within six entering the fourth but Cunningham scored four straight points and Alexey Shved hit a 3-pointer to make it 96-82 with 7:46 remaining.

Boston could not get any closer than eight down the stretch in losing for the seventh time in nine games. Avery Bradley led six Celtics in double figures with 19 points.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pierce is expected to play Wednesday at home against Detroit. ... Minnesota PG Ricky Rubio shot 2-for-11 but had a game-high 10 assists. ... Pekovic made all 11 of his free throws as the Timberwolves went 25-for-27 from the line. Boston was just 9-for-14.
Top Game Performances
 
Boston   Minnesota
Avery Bradley 19 Scoring Nikola Pekovic 29
Jordan Crawford 5 Assists Ricky Rubio 10
Jeff Green 7 Rebounds Andrei Kirilenko 9
Jason Terry 4 Free Throws Made Nikola Pekovic 11
Jason Terry 2 Steals Dante Cunningham 2
Shavlik Randolph 2 Blocks Derrick Williams 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Boston 100 51.9 7-16 9-14 25 37 3 4 17
Minnesota 110 48.2 5-18 25-27 30 31 4 10 10
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Celtics have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.