The lead ballooned to 19 a short time later but the Wolves responded by upping their defense and getting to the line. That helped Minnesota cut it to an 11-point game by the end of the third and creep within two with two minutes to play in the fourth.

Jaylen Brown scored the Celtics’ first 15 points on five consecutive 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, before Boston withstood a late charge to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-105.