NBA Game Summary - Minnesota at Boston

Boston, MA (Basketball News) - Latrell Sprewell’s runner along the baseline with 9/10ths of a second remaining lifted the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 99-97 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Kevin Garnett finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Timberwolves, who have won two straight and three of their last four games. Wally Szczerbiak netted 20 points, while John Thomas and Trenton Hassell posted 12 points apiece in the win.

Ricky Davis scored a game-high 22 points for the Celtics, but he missed on a chance to tie the game at the buzzer. Antoine Walker chipped in 16 points in the loss and Paul Pierce added 12 points and nine assists for Boston, which had a four-game winning streak halted.

Meanwhile, Gary Payton had 17 points and six assists in his return to the Celtics. Boston re-signed Payton on Friday after the veteran point guard spent a brief time in Atlanta. Payton went to the Hawks as part of the Walker deal, but Boston managed to negotiate a buyout of his contract.

Garnett hit a jumper in the lane to give Minnesota a 97-96 edge with two minutes left, but Walker hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line to even the game with 1:43 remaining.

After a series of misses by both teams, the Timberwolves gained possession with 24.7 seconds left. They dribbled up the court and, after working the clock down, sent the ball to Sprewell in the left corner. Sprewell made a strong move to the hoop and dropped in the bucket just before the shot clock expired.

Davis had an 18-foot jump shot at the end of the game, but the ball rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded.

The Celtics started the fourth quarter with a 73-72 advantage and would still hold a slim cushion when Davis’ jumper made it 87-85 with 6:39 left. That’s when Minnesota embarked on a 10-2 stretch to grab a 95-89 lead with 4:03 remaining. Szczerbiak scored five points in the run and capped it with a three-point play. However, Boston responded with seven straight points to take a 96-95 lead with 2:53 left.

The first quarter was tight throughout and the score was tied at 27-27 after 12 minutes of action. Minnesota would begin the second quarter on an 18-6 run to grab a 45-33 cushion. Szczerbiak scored eight points during the surge for the Timberwolves.

Boston used a 17-5 run of its own to close out the period and even the halftime score at 50-50. Payton led all scorers with 15 points at the break, while Szczerbiak netted 11 to pace the Timberwolves.

The teams kept battling for the lead in the tight third quarter, but Pierce’s layup with 42 seconds remaining in the period would give Boston a 73-72 edge heading into the final 12 minutes.