Wolves rally helps Knicks tighten East No. 2 race
The Minnesota Timberwolves shrugged off the injury absence of Anthony Edwards to complete a come-from-behind 102-92 road victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Minnesota trailed by 15 points early in the second quarter but rallied decisively in the fourth with a 16-0 run to outscore the Celtics 26-15 and silence a 19,156 crowd at Boston’s TD Garden.
With Edwards missing due to right knee inflammation, Bones Hyland led Minnesota with 23 points off the bench, while Jaden McDaniels had 19 points and Ayo Dosunmu 17.
Minnesota improved to 44-28 and remains in sixth place in the Western Conference.
Knicks’ 1-2 punch
The New York Knicks improved to 47-25 to remain hard on the heels of the Celtics in the East with a 145-113 demolition of the Washington Wizards.
Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 26 points, 16 rebounds and three assists, while Jalen Brunson added 23 points as the Knicks cruised to a wire-to-wire victory over a Wizards team that has lost 16 games straight.
Washington is one place off the bottom of the Eastern Conference at 16-55 and is vying with the Indiana Pacers (15-56) for the worst record in the league.
In the Western Conference, Nikola Jokic’s 35th triple-double of the season powered the Denver Nuggets to a 128-112 defeat of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jokic tallied 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists, while Jamal Murray also scored 22 points, including four three-pointers.
Denver improved to 44-28 to remain in fifth place in the standings behind Houston (43-27).
Denver’s win marked a rare start for their first-choice starting line-up, with Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun alongside Jokic and Murray, with Peyton Watson also returning from the bench.
“We know we’ve got a good team and it’s been a while since we’ve had our full team,” Watson said.
“I think when we’re healthy, nobody can beat us.”
Cleared to play
Meanwhile, Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is clear to play on Monday night at Detroit after the NBA rescinded his 16th technical foul of the season.
Doncic and Magic center Goga Bitadze each received a technical foul with 1:19 left in the third quarter of Los Angeles’ 105-104 win at Orlando on Saturday night. The players exchanged words while Doncic was at the free-throw line and appeared to continue the conversation on the way down the court.
The NBA announced on Sunday that the technical on each player had been rescinded. A 16th technical foul triggers a one-game suspension.
The Lakers have won nine in a row going into the matchup with the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons. Doncic is averaging 40 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists during the streak.
