NBA Game Summary - Minnesota at Boston
Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Celtics began life without Rajon Rondo on a high note.
Kelly Olynyk scored 21 points off the bench to lead six Celtics in double figures in a 114-98 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.
Rondo was traded to Dallas along with Dwight Powell on Thursday night in exchange for guard Jameer Nelson, forwards Jae Crowder and Brandan Wright, two draft picks and cash considerations.
Jeff Green supplied 18 points and seven rebounds, while Jared Sullinger, Tyler Zeller and Avery Bradley each scored 14 points in the Celtics' third straight win.
"It's tough to see him go," Green said of Rondo. "He was one of the reasons I came back. We fell into a brotherhood."
Sullinger pulled down 10 rebounds and Evan Turner contributed 10 points starting in place of Rondo, the All-Star point guard who ranks fourth on the Celtics' all-time assists list.
Shabazz Muhammad led all scorers with 26 points in the loss. The Timberwolves lost a fourth consecutive game overall and have now lost nine straight in Boston.
"We left a lot of points right on the rim," said Wolves coach Flip Saunders.
Minnesota was also without one of its key players after Corey Brewer was traded to Houston in a three-team deal Friday.
Houston traded Troy Daniels, two second-round picks and cash to the Wolves for Brewer and Philadelphia guard Alexey Shved.
Philadelphia acquired injured forward Ronny Turiaf from the Timberwolves and a 2015 second-round draft pick and the rights to Spanish League player Sergei Lishchuk from Houston.
Olynyk scored 11 points in the first quarter to lead the Celtics, who shot 52.2 percent from the floor on the way to a 27-24 lead entering the second.
Minnesota ended up tying the score on a couple of occasions in the second, then Boston opened it up a bit with a 10-2 run in the latter stages. Turner capped the burst with a layup to make it 53-45 before Muhammad closed the first-half scoring with a 3-pointer.
The Celtics maintained an 83-77 edge after three quarters, then closed out the game with an impressive scoring run.
Muhammad's 3-pointer cut the deficit to 90-88 with just under eight minutes to play prior to Olynyk's trey that started a 24-10 run to end the game. Green hit a 3 to extend the margin to 103-92 and the hosts coasted down the stretch.