By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON (AP) — Bones Hyland scored 23 points, Jaden McDaniels had 19 and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Celtics 102-92 to snap an 18-game losing streak in Boston.
Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Minnesota, and Rudy Gobert had 14 rebounds and nine points. The Timberwolves’ last win in Boston came in 2005.
“Dang, that don’t even sound right,” Hyland said, when told about 2005. “I was 5-years-old. That’s crazy.”
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points, Jayson Tatum overcame a slow start to score 16 points and add 11 rebounds. Derrick White had 15 points. The loss snapped the Celtics’ four-game winning streak and left them just a half-game ahead of the New York Knicks in second place in the Eastern Conference.
Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards was sidelined for his fourth straight game because of right knee inflammation. Forward Naz Reid returned after a two-game absence with a sprained right ankle and was ineffective until scoring in eight of his 11 points during Minnesota’s game-breaking 16-0 run midway into the final quarter.
The Timberwolves trailed 81-80 before Hyland’s 3 from the right wing pushed them ahead for good with 9:05 to play. Reid had eight straight points in the run with a three-point play and 3 mixed in.
Playing his eighth game since returning from Achilles tendon surgery, Tatum was scoreless in the opening half when Boston squandered a 15-point lead and trailed 47-44 at halftime before putting up 13 points in the third quarter.
Behind Tatum’s spark, the Celtics opened the second half by scoring the first 11 points.
Both teams started cold from long range, with the Celtics missing eight of their initial nine 3s and Minnesota going 1 for 7 behind the arc.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker scored 25 points, Jalen Green added 20 and the Phoenix Suns snapped a five-game losing streak by beating the Toronto Raptors, 120-98.
Phoenix won its 40th game of the season, which is already a four-win improvement over last year with 10 games to play.
The Suns never trailed and took an 18-point lead into halftime. They extended the advantage to 92-62 late in the third when Booker got fouled while making a driving layup, adding the free throw to convert the three-point play.
Booker shot 9 of 15 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. Collin Gillespie added 16 points. The Suns’ second unit played well with Ryan Dunn scoring 12 and rookie Rasheer Fleming adding 11.
Toronto lost its second straight. The Raptors are still No. 5 in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but fell to 39-31, which is just a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers. The top six teams automatically make the playoffs in each conference.
Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 17 points. RJ Barrett and Ja’Kobe Walter both added 13.
Phoenix jumped out to a 34-20 after one quarter after shooting 8 of 12 from 3-point range and extended the advantage to 66-48 by halftime. Booker led the Suns with 12 points before the break, while Barnes had 13 for the Raptors.
The banged-up Suns won despite missing a big chunk of their playing rotation, including Royce O’Neale (knee), Grayson Allen (knee), Dillon Brooks (hand) and Mark Williams (foot).
