The Celtics opened up the New Year with a thrilling 118-115 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center in Minneapolis Thursday night.  The Celtics sweep the season series with the T-Wolves and improve to 25-9 overall on the season.  The Celtics hit 22 3's in the victory.  Minnesota's Anthony Edwards missed on a potential game-tying 3-Pointer in the game's final seconds.  

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Scoring Totals: Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 33 Points.  Tatum scored 21 in the 2nd Half and hit 6 3's in the win.  He also had 9 Assists and 8 Rebounds.  Derrick White scored 26 and knocked down 5 3's.  Sam Hauser hit 5 3's and scored 15.  Jrue Holiday had 11 and 8 Assists.            

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No KP. No JB: Kristaps Porzingis missed his 4th straight game with a left ankle sprain. Jaylen Brown also missed the 1st Game of the road trip with a Right Shoulder Sprain.  With the win over the T-Wolves, the Celtics are now (2-3) with Brown out of the lineup.       

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1st Half Nuggets- The Celtics never led in the 1st Quarter and trailed by 7 after 1.  The Celtics outscored the Timberwolves, 34-16, in the 2nd and led by 11 at Halftime.  Sam Hauser hit 4 3's and scored 12 Points in the 1st Half.  Jayson Tatum also scored 12 in the 1st Half.  Derrick White added 10.  The Celtics had 17 Assists and only 2 Turnovers in the 1st Half (Thank you to TNT's Ernie Johnson for those #'s).         

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What's On Tap?: The Celtics road trip continues Friday night with their 1st meeting of the season with the Houston Rockets.  The Rockets are currently #3 in the Western Conference with a 22-11 Record.  The Rockets avoided a 3rd straight loss with Wednesday's home win over the Dallas Mavericks.  The Celtics face the West's top team in the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday afternoon and conclude their trip in Denver against the Nuggets next Tuesday.                              

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