Jayson Tatum shines as Celtics outlast Wolves in clash of No. 1 seeds

On Wednesday night, Jayson Tatumdelivered a signature performance to steer the Boston Celtics pastthe Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-120, in a titanic clash between theNo. 1 seeds in each conference.

Tatum was magnificent, pouringin 12 of the Celtics’ 16 points in overtime en route to aseason-high 45 points. He shot 13-of-26 from the field, 6-of-11from three and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line as Boston remainedunbeaten at home (18-0)

Jaylen Brown added 35 points and11 rebounds for Boston, who played without starting center KristapsPorzingis due to a right knee contusion.

This was the second-straightovetime game between these two teams, following a 114-109 Wolveswin in Minnesota on Nov. 6.

Entering this game, the 28-winCeltics were the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference while the26-win Timberwolves were the No. 1 seed in the WesternConference.

Karl-Anthony Towns had a valianteffort for an undermanned Wolves team that was playing on thesecond night of a road back-to-back following yesterday’s win atthe Orlando Magic. They were without Rudy Gobert (left hipsoreness) and Mike Conley (rest).

Towns registered 25 points and13 rebounds as he started at the 5 with Gobert’s absence, but starteammate Anthony Edwards committed two crucial turnovers inOT.

Edwards had a decent 29-pointgame, but this was overshadowed by his two costly mistakes thatflipped the momentum to Boston’s favor.

Boston is now 29-8, which is thebest record in the NBA. Minnesota drops to 26-11, with only ahalf-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder (25-11) and DenverNuggets (26-12).