MINNEAPOLIS - Timberwolves ticket sales have been rough.
Even with Kevin Garnett playing his first game as a Celtic in his old home - the Target Center - the stretches of empty seating told a sad economic story. So the Celtics rubbed it in. After barely shooting 41 percent in a first half in which neither team reached 40 points, the Celtics polished off the team of Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair on the basis of one good quarter.
A 35-10 third period was primarily responsible for last night's 95-78 win. The subdued crowd, after watching Garnett need only 29 minutes for his 17 points and four rebounds, went home with a brutal reminder: Their own rebuilding organization contributed mightily to the force that bowled them over with such second-half ease. With roughly four minutes left in the third, a dismayed fan shouted, `C'mon, you've only scored 10 points.''
It would stay that way, with the Celtics rolling on the basis of two murderous runs - an early 7-0 burst and, with the ice broken, a pulverizing 21-3 burst during the last 5:51 of the quarter. What had started as a threadbare 39-36 halftime lead for the Wolves was thus transformed into some serious makeup basketball by the Celtics.
Perhaps the most daunting aspect of the latter run was that no one player filled it up. But by the end of the quarter, Leon Powe had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double, his first of the season.
Rondo exited the stretch with an equally impressive 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Alas, the Celtics eased up. A pair of Telfair treys kicked off an 8-0 Minnesota run, but Eddie House snuffed it with his own trey. Tony Allen converted a three-point play off a 15-footer, and the Celtics led, 77-57.
Early on, Garnett, despite two quick turnovers, was on his game with a team-leading seven points in the first 12 minutes. Gomes was even more of a force, scoring his seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field to go with five boards. The hosts led 29-22 with nine minutes left in the half when Telfair drove for a bucket.
Allen then fouled Rodney Carney on a 3-point attempt. He hit 2-of-3 for a 31-24 lead. Fortunately for the Celtics, Minnesota was just as ragged with the ball, and with just more than five minutes left, the Wolves led 33-28. The Celtics briefly cut that margin, but Jefferson pushed it back to five (35-30) with a hook from the lane. Paul Pierce trimmed it back to three off a drive, but the Celtics weren't going far. They left the floor at halftime on the wrong end of a truly ugly 39-36 score.
The Celtics shot 41 percent in the opening half, but only went 3-of-6 from the free throw line.
Minnesota, meanwhile, shot 27 percent but went into the locker room up with the help of a 14-of-16 clip from the charity stripe.
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