MINNEAPOLIS _ Minnesota fans have yet to see what the combination of D'Angelo Russell and Karl-Anthony Towns looks like in person on the court.
Since the Wolves acquired Russell, he and Towns have played in just one game _ at Toronto a few days before the All-Star break. That wait is going to take longer with Towns now expected out for at least the next two weeks as he and the Wolves will treat a left wrist fracture Towns suffered in late January.
Towns was on the bench, his left wrist in a brace as the Wolves lost to the Celtics, 127-117, at Target Center.
In the meantime, the Wolves have to keep integrating almost entirely new personnel from their series of trades earlier this month. There will be nights where that transition will go smoother than others _ and it may go smoother on the offensive end than the defensive end.
The Wolves had the firepower to keep up with the Celtics, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They didn't quite have the defensive chops to keep Boston from outscoring them for the game, even though the Celtics were without All-Star guard Kemba Walker.
Four Celtics scored at least 25 points, led by Gordon Hayward's 29. Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 11 rebounds, Jaylen Brown 25 points and Daniel Theis 25 and 16 rebounds.
After the Wolves threatened Boston's lead multiple times in the fourth, the Celtics had an answer almost every time they were on offense. The Wolves never led in the fourth, and Boston put the game away late as the Wolves late-game offense shriveled alongside the defense.
Russell had 18 points and 13 assists but shot 5 of 15. Malik Beasley scored 27 to lead the Wolves while Naz Reid had 19 staring in place of Towns. The Celtics outrebounded the Wolves 58-43 and had 56 points in the paint.
Both teams took the first quarter to shake off some rust from the All-Star break, except Russell didn't look like he had much. Russell hit four of his first seven shots to score 10 points in the quarter, half of the Wolves' 20-point total. The Celtics' strong starting lineup had a more balanced effort on the scoring sheet, with Tatum pouring in seven and Hayward six to give Boston a 24-20 lead after the quarter.
Outside of Russell, the Wolves struggled to get going offensively, as they shot just 8 of 24 and committed four turnovers.
Russell played the entire first quarter and the Wolves held down the fort while he rested in the second. The Wolves stayed within striking distance with a lineup that featured three players who have spent a lot of time in Iowa this season _ Reid, Jordan McLaughlin and Kelan Martin.
However, Boston made its first significant run shortly after Russell checked back in. Brown hit jumpers on consecutive possessions in a 9-2 Boston run that gave the Celtics their biggest lead of the night at that point, 46-34.
Then the rust came fully off offensively for both teams. Tatum was up to 18 by the end of the quarter while Beasley capped off a strong quarter with a buzzer beating 3 to give him 16 for the half. It pulled the Wolves within 61-53 as Boston shot 50% in the second quarter.
Boston led 70-58 when the Wolves went on a 12-2 run, highlighted by a pair of Reid 3s and a Beasley layup off a no-look pass from Russell.
The Wolves couldn't get over the hump, however, and Boston maintained its lead throughout the quarter and carried a 95-88 advantage into the fourth.
The Wolves pulled back within two thanks to 10-2 run, with McLaughlin scoring eight of those points, as the small point guard hit some open shots and made a few flashy moves to get the crowd into it. The Wolves got within one multiple times, but they could never get the necessary stops on defense needed to re-take the lead, while Boston came up with just enough to preserve it.
