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NBA: Hayward, Celtics hold off Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Gordon Hayward scored 29 points, Daniel Theis had career highs with 25 points and 16 rebounds and the Boston Celtics stayed strong out of the All-Star break, holding off the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-117 on Friday night.

Jalen Brown scored 25 points and Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 11 rebounds as fellow All-Star Kemba Walker sat out because of a minor knee injury. Marcus Smart had 10 points and a season-high 10 assists as the primary point guard in Walker’s place, helping the Celtics win for the ninth time in last 10 games. They’re 1 1/2 games behind defending NBA champion Toronto for second place in the suddenly stacked Eastern Conference.

Malik Beasley scored 27 points, D’Angelo Russell had 18 points and a season-high 13 assists, and Juancho Hernangomez added a season-high 17 points for the Timberwolves. They have lost 16 of 17 games. Playing without center Karl-Anthony Towns, whose broken wrist will keep him out at least another two weeks, the Wolves fell to 6-30 since Dec. 1.

Rookie point guard Jordan McLaughlin, who’s been on a two-way contract, made all three of his 3-point attempts for Minnesota, the last one that cut the lead to 100-98. The crowd was alive as the Wolves twice came within one point after that, only to fail to take back the lead they hadn’t had since midway through the first quarter.

After Theis muscled inside for a layup and Russell missed from deep, Tatum swished a 3-pointer to give the Celtics a 119-11 edge with 3:55 to go.

Without Towns, the Timberwolves looked even more like a randomly patched together team, in the aftermath of their roster-rattling trades two weeks ago with Russell as the key acquisition. With plenty of youngsters seeking to prove their value and secure their future, they played with an energy the Celtics didn’t always mirror, even if their talent levels didn’t match.

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