The Celtics know how to separate the great teams from the best teams

No lead was safe on Sunday afternoon. An early 15-point spurt from Jaylen Brown put the Boston Celtics in the driver’s seat early on against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it came at a cost. Brown’s scorching-hot start seemingly came at the cost of the team’s rhythm.

As Brown was unconscious, the rest of the Celtics started 0-of-9. A Payton Pritchard three eased the tension, but Minnesota had already battled their way back into the game.

That’s effectively how the entire night went.

Great teams will always make runs, but the best teams will stop them

Every time the Celtics made a run, the Timberwolves were right there. Even after Boston went up by 19 points in the third quarter thanks to some timely turnovers and a barrage of threes, Minnesota fought back and brought the game within inches in the fourth.

No lead is safe in today’s NBA. Boston’s 19-point cushion may as well have been two. Yet every time Anthony Edwards and the Wolves came storming back into the picture, the Celtics were there with a big-time play.

“You just need to have the poise and the physicality,” Joe Mazzulla said. “They test you every possession on both ends of the floor with their physicality and their rim protection and their ball pressure. And then they got dynamic guys that can score at any time. 

“So, they’re going to go through runs. It’s just a matter of how you handle them, and I thought our guys handled it well with the physicality on offense and our connectivity and our poise defensively.”

By the early stages of the final frame, Boston’s once 19-point lead had dwindled to five. But right as the Wolves were about to get over the hump, a Brown mid-range turnaround kept them at bay.

The two sides traded buckets, but Edwards found a groove. With 6:19 left to go, he nailed a step-back three to pull Minnesota within four. But just as Brown was there before, Derrick White was there this time. A strong drive to the rim once again staved off the Wolves’ momentum.

Then, just two minutes later, when a 4-0 Minnesota run had them within four points again, a three from White prevented the comeback.

“It's just a fun game,” White said. “They're a great team and they got great players, so you know they're going to make runs [and] they're going to make shots. Just understanding the moment of the game and just trying to get a good look. That's what we play for—to compete at the highest level. I just try to have fun in those moments.”

White’s clutch moments still weren’t enough to seal the deal, though, as the Wolves kept storming forward. Another Edwards three and a Jaden McDaniels dunk brought Minnesota within two. One bucket away from a lead.

But Brown, just as he did in the first five minutes of the game, sent a dagger through the hearts of the entire Wolves fanbase. He crossed half-court, received a pass from Jrue Holiday, and rose up into the air before McDaniels could react quickly enough.

Money.

Brown put the Celtics up 107-102, and though Julius Randle gave Minnesota a chance to win the game at the buzzer, Naz Reid’s shot was off (and just barely too late).

The Timberwolves were a conference finals last team for a reason. But so were the Celtics. Runs are inevitable in today’s league. And great teams won’t stop pushing forward.

But the best teams will find a way to stop the great teams. It may not always be pretty, but the final score is all that matters.

“It is a challenge. I think it's to be expected,” said Jayson Tatum. “We were playing a really good team with some talented players. They're not just going to go away easy. They're going to make plays. And I say all the time, 'How do we respond? How do we withstand what they're trying to do?' It's always by collective effort on both ends of the floor. Just guys finding ways to make a play on both ends.”