Love, Martin Leads Wolves Over Celtics 104-89
By Sarita Kelly
The Minnesota Timberwolves (3-2) played in Montreal Sunday night at the Bell Centre for the 2013 NBA Canada series and came away with a win 104-89 against the Boston Celtics (1-6).
Oct 20, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (42) dunks while Boston Celtics center Vitor Faverani (38) and teammate forward Kelly Olynyk (41) defend during the third quarter at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
This was the Wolves first pre-season game in a week. The Timberwolves hadn’t played since October 12th when they lost to the Toronto Raptors at home.
The Wolves put together a 12-0 run to grab an 18-7 lead on Martin’s 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the first quarter. The Timberwolves maintained their slim advantage throughout the second quarter and led 57-51 at halftime. Kevin Love led both teams in scoring at the half with 16 points.
Minnesota kept Boston at bay in the third with good three-point shooting by Love. The T-Wolves led 81-72 at the start of the fourth quarter.
That’s when Minnesota began pulling away. Led by bench-player J.J. Barea’s six points, the Timberwolves outscored Boston 23-17 in the final quarter.
The two Kevin’s, Love and Martin, had a combined 43 points for this win. Love with 22 points and nine rebounds and Martin with 21 points and nine rebounds. Ricky Rubio led the team in assists with seven.
Point guard Rajon Rondo, who played with Pierce and Garnett for six years prior to the trade, missed the game with a knee injury. Rondo underwent surgery in February to repair a torn knee ligament, and hasn’t played since.
Gerald Wallace had 16 points and three assists for Boston. Toronto native Kelly Olynyk scored four points in 19 minutes.