NBA Game Summary - Boston at Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Martin returned to score 21 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves snapped a 10-game home losing streak with a 110-98 win over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Martin missed 34 games after suffering a fractured right wrist on Nov. 19 but led seven Timberwolves scorers in double figures while playing 29 minutes off the bench.
"I'm just a scorer," said Martin. "At the end of the day, I can put the thing in the hole. It felt good early on to see a couple go in. I went through a little stretch where I knocked some rust off and got back at it in the fourth (quarter)."
Zach LaVine added 17 points in the win, Gorgui Dieng had 16 with 14 rebounds, Nikola Pekovic scored 14 and Andrew Wiggins and Thaddeus Young each had 12.
The Timberwolves played without guard Mo Williams and won for the first time at home since a 90-82 victory over Portland on Dec. 10.
The NBA basement dwellers snapped a five-game overall losing streak, winning for just the fourth time in the last 31 games.
Williams missed the game because of personal reasons, the Timberwolves said. He is expected to rejoin the team on Thursday.
Jared Sullinger scored 16 points to lead Boston and Marcus Thornton added 15 off the bench. The Celtics finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip.
"Tonight we kind of hurt ourselves a little, so this is a tough one," said Boston guard Evan Turner, who scored 10.
Martin scored all nine points in a 9-0 run in the fourth quarter that extended their lead from four to 13 with six minutes remaining.
He made a pair of 3s during the flurry and scored the rest on a traditional three-point play.
The Celtics never got closer than nine the rest of the way. Earlier, they pulled themselves out of a 13-point hole late in the third quarter to draw within three early in the fourth.
Boston's last lead was 49-48 at halftime.