The Wolves are hoping to forget about an ugly road loss to Memphis on Saturday as they go up against the Boston Celtics at home on Monday night.
The Wolves go into the game with a 4-8 record, tied for 10th in the West.
The Celtics are 7-6, sixth in the East.
A few tidbits going into Monday night’s game:
Coming Off Of…
The Wolves are coming off of a 93-71 road loss to the Grizzlies on Saturday in Memphis.
Zach LaVine led the Wolves with 22 points, shooting 4-for-8 from the 3-point line. Karl-Anthony Towns was the only other player to hit double digits, scoring 17.
Boston is coming off of a 94-92 road win against the Pistons on Saturday.
Isaiah Thomas led the way with 24 points and eight assists. Al Horford had a nice all-around game of 18 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals. Avery Bradley added 13 points.
Last Matchup:
The two teams split the season series last season. They last played on Feb. 22 at the Target Center and the Wolves won 124-122.
Towns led the way for Minnesota with 28 points and 13 rebounds. Gorgui Dieng also had a double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Wiggins and Zach LaVine scored 17 and 16 points, respectively. Ricky Rubio nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Shabazz Muhammad led the second unit with 13 points.
Jae Crowder led the Celtics with 27 points and nine rebounds. Bradley added 22 points, while Thomas scored 18. Smart led the second unit with 17 points. Jared Sullinger, now with the Raptors, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Key Matchup: Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Al Horford
The two friends will go up against each other on Monday. This is, of course, Minnesota’s first look at Horford in green.
On the season, Towns is averaging 21.8 points (up 3.5 from last season) and 8.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the 3-point line.
In two games against Boston last season, Towns averaged 26.5 points and 14.5 rebounds per game.
In his first season in Boston, Horford is averaging 13.5 points (lowest since 2011-12), 6.8 rebounds (career low) and a career-high 4.8 assists per game.
In 14 career games against the Wolves, Horford is averaging 15.6 points and 10 rebounds.
Injuries:
Boston: No injuries to report.
Minnesota: Nikola Pekovic (ankle) is out. Brandon Rush (toe) is questionable.
Projected Starters:
Boston: PG – Thomas, SG – Bradley, SF – Crowder, PF – Johnson, C – Horford
Minnesota: PG – Rubio, SG – LaVine, SF – Wiggins, PF – Dieng, C – Towns
