1st Quarter Report
After a tough loss on the road their last time out, the Celtics look much better today on their home court. A win is still up for grabs for either team after one quarter, but the Celtics are up 34-32 over the Timberwolves.
The Celtics came into the game with some extra motivation after the defeat they were dealt the last time these two teams faced off. We’ll see if they’re able to flip the script or if it’ll just be more of the same.
Who’s Playing
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Boston Celtics
Current Records: Minnesota 26-10, Boston 28-8
How To Watch
- When: Wednesday, January 10, 2024 at 7 p.m. ET
- Where: TD Garden — Boston, Massachusetts
- TV: Bally Sports – North
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
- Ticket Cost: $105.00
What to Know
The Celtics are 8-2 against the Timberwolves since December of 2018, and they’ll have a chance to extend that success on Wednesday. The Boston Celtics will be playing at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:00 p.m. ET at TD Garden. The Celtics will be looking to keep their 17-game home win streak alive.
The oddsmakers set the bar high, but the Celtics and the Pacers didn’t disappoint and broke past the 246.5 point over/under on Monday. Boston fell just short of Indiana by a score of 133-131. The Celtics didn’t live up to their potential and found themselves falling short of the advantage oddsmakers thought they had coming into the game.
Despite their loss, the Celtics saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Jaylen Brown, who scored 40 points along with five rebounds, was perhaps the best of all. Those 40 points set a new season-high mark for him.
Meanwhile, winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to post 14 more assists than your opponent, a fact the Timberwolves proved on Tuesday. They put the hurt on Orlando with a sharp 113-92 win. The matchup was pretty much decided by the half, when the score had already reached 67-37.
The Timberwolves can attribute much of their success to Rudy Gobert, who dropped a double-double on 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored 28 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Gobert has been hot recently, having posted ten or more rebounds the last three times he’s played.
Boston’s loss dropped their record down to 28-8. As for Minnesota, their victory bumped their record up to 26-10.
Wednesday’s contest is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: The Celtics just can’t miss this season, having made 48.3% of their shots per game. However, it’s not like the Timberwolves struggle in that department as they’ve made 48.7% of their shots per game this season. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
As for their next game, the Celtics are the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by eight points. This contest will be their tenth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 5-4 against the spread).
Odds
Boston is a big 8-point favorite against Minnesota, according to the latest NBA odds.
The line has drifted a bit towards the Celtics, as the game opened with the Celtics as a 6-point favorite.
The over/under is set at 223.5 points.
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Series History
Boston has won 8 out of their last 10 games against Minnesota.
- Nov 06, 2023 – Minnesota 114 vs. Boston 109
- Mar 15, 2023 – Boston 104 vs. Minnesota 102
- Dec 23, 2022 – Boston 121 vs. Minnesota 109
- Mar 27, 2022 – Boston 134 vs. Minnesota 112
- Dec 27, 2021 – Minnesota 108 vs. Boston 103
- May 15, 2021 – Boston 124 vs. Minnesota 108
- Apr 09, 2021 – Boston 145 vs. Minnesota 136
- Feb 21, 2020 – Boston 127 vs. Minnesota 117
- Jan 02, 2019 – Boston 115 vs. Minnesota 102
- Dec 01, 2018 – Boston 118 vs. Minnesota 109
KVSP