After getting ejected from the game, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Anthony Edwards (1) pleads with referee Brian Forte as center Rudy Gobert (27) walks with them during the fourth quarter of the team's NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in Minneapolis. The Celtics won 104-102. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

MINNEAPOLIS — Jaylen Brown put forth his second 30-point outing against the Timberwolves of the season to pave the way for a 104-102 win for the Celtics in Minneapolis Wednesday night.

Despite reaggravating his facial fracture after taking contact to his face while playing defense perimeter in the second quarter, Brown played offensively with confidence and aggression. He made no hesitation when he drove to the rim and finished the night with 35 points on 12-24 shooting. Brown also scored 36 in the Celtics’ 150-126 win over Minnesota on Christmas eve, meaning he has scored 30 or more points in three of his last four games against the Timberwolves.

Anthony Edwards led Minnesota in scoring with 28 points on 10-20 shooting, including 5-8 from beyond the 3-point line, but perhaps more impressive was his ability to work within the flow of the offense. Rather than just scoring, he also was an effective playmaker. His seven assists were the second-most in the game behind Kyle Anderson’s eight.

“I think he did a great job really all night. I probably would like to see him drive [Al] Horford at the end down two rather than settle, but he got a decently clean look,” Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said. “Other than that, I thought he did a really good job after the first like five, six minutes once he realized what the defense was going to look like. You know, trying to play with good patience when he was driving.”

Jayson Tatum continued to struggle on Wednesday night. After shooting 8-22 in the Celtics’ Monday night contest against Houston, Tatum shot 4-16 against the Timberwolves, including 0-8 from 3-point range.

Perimeter shooting struggles weren’t limited to Tatum, however. Boston and Minnesota both struggled from 3-point range all night. At halftime, the Celtics were shooting 23% from beyond the arc and the Timberwolves were shooting 30%. Those numbers improved in the second half to 28% and 33% respectively, but more noticeable than the misses was the defense on them.

Aside from Jaden McDaniels, the Timberwolves’ perimeter defenders largely gave Boston the open look from long range despite the Celtics shooting 38% as a team on the season.

With five minutes remaining, the Timberwolves seemed to have the momentum to overcome a double-digit deficit late in the second half. McDaniels had the opportunity to take the lead while trailing 93-95, but his 3-pointer fell short.

Rudy Gobert and Naz Reid helped the Timberwolves establish an interior presence on the offensive end. They each scored 15 points, with Gobert throwing down some ferocious dunks and Reid also knocking down a late 3-pointer.

“[Naz] is a confidence player,” Finch said. “When he has confidence, his confidence is going. He’s really really good. Sometimes he’ll get down on himself, unnecessarily so, so we just try to keep confidence in him. I think we told him to be extra aggressive, particularly in the second half because they have a matchup for him.”

Edwards had one last shot to tie the game with 32 seconds remaining, but his step back jumper was no good and the Celtics got the rebound. From there, the Timberwolves were unable to foul until there were 1.7 seconds remaining. Tatum made both free throws, leaving the Timberwolves without a chance to rebuttal.

Mike Conley made a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to bring the Timberwolves within 2 points as time expired.

Anderson and Edwards both got ejected in the final seconds of the game after a disagreement with controversial officiating. It wasn’t the first time that night that things got heated. Brown was assessed a technical foul in the first half after exchanging words with Gobert following a collision and Gobert was assessed a flagrant one for making contact with Jayson Tatum’s head while attempting to block a dunk.

“It was really rough out there,” Finch said of the officiating. “A little unbalanced at times. I mean, I don’t understand why there wasn’t a delay of game when Tatum runs down the floor with the ball. I don’t understand why there weren’t technical fouls called with [Celtics head coach Joe] Mazzula out on the floor twice in the action of play. I didn’t understand some of the verticality A to B, It seemed to kind of all come unhinged at the time when Rudy got his taunting technical or whatever it was, but it seemed to put everybody on edge.”

HOME COURT DISADVANTAGE

Wednesday night’s loss in the Target Center was the fifth consecutive home loss for the Timberwolves, with the other losses coming against Washington, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Brooklyn. Of those four teams, Philadelphia is the only one with a winning record over their last ten games.

UP NEXT

Minnesota: The Timberwolves (35-35) will kick off a three-game road trip Friday when they take on Chicago at 7 p.m. The Timberwolves defeated the Bulls 150-126 in Minneapolis back in January.

Boston: The Celtics (48-22) will play the third leg of a five-game road trip against Portland on Friday at 9 p.m. Boston beat the Blazers 115-93 when they faced off in the TD Garden last week.