3 Eye-Popping Numbers From the Timberwolves' Win Over the Celtics

Led by Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu, the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves went into TD Garden and upset a healthy Boston Celtics team in primetime action on Sunday night. It was the latest example of the Wolves' somewhat bizarre ability to win games few expect them to win and lose games few expect them to lose. As one analyst put it, they "might be the most confusing team in the league."

Regardless of what has come before it, this was a big win for Chris Finch and Minnesota. They Wolves are now roughly tied with the Nuggets and Rockets in the 4-6 spots in the Western Conference, with a huge home game coming up against Houston on Wednesday.

Here are three eye-popping numbers from the Timberwolves' victory in Boston.

7,685 days

That's how many days passed in between Timberwolves victories in Beantown.

Prior to this game, the Wolves had lost 18 consecutive contests at TD Garden, where they play once per season. Their last victory in that building was on March 6, 2005. Kevin Garnett led the Wolves with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists in a 99-97 victory, two years before he was traded to the Celtics. Wally Szczerbiak chipped in 20 points off of Minnesota's bench.

Since then, it had been nothing but Ls for the Timberwolves in Boston, albeit with several close calls mixed in. 10 of the 18 losses came by single digits, including three overtime games. But it took until Sunday for the Wolves to break through and snap the streak.

It's not the second time this season Minnesota has ended an absurdly long losing streak in an Eastern Conference venue. The Wolves famously had lost 20 straight games in Toronto before winning there in early February for the first time since 2004.

51 games

Speaking of streaks, here's another interesting one that ended on Sunday night. As noted by Celtics play-by-play announcer Sean Grande, Boston had won 51 consecutive games when its defense held the opponent below 1.03 points per possession. The Wolves were below that mark in this game but still managed to grind out a 102-92 win.

Oddly, the last team to beat the Celtics while being held below 1.03 PPP was the Timberwolves in November 2023.

Boston also had won 37 straight games in which it held a lead of at least 15 points. That streak is no more, as the Wolves went on an extended 88-57 run after being down 29-14 early on.

Minnesota Sunday ended the Celtics' 51-game winning streak when allowing fewer than 1.03 points/possession.

The last team to beat the Celtics while failing to get to 1.03?

The Timberwolves, in Minneapolis, Nov. 6, 2023 https://t.co/VGbHZajTCb
— Sean Grande (@SeanGrandePBP) March 23, 2026

3/14

Those are the shooting numbers for Julius Randle in this game. Minnesota's top offensive option with Edwards sidelined had a tough night, scoring just 9 points in his 29 minutes. It's only the second time all season he's been held below 10 points in a game. Randle was a -4 on Sunday, while Hyland and Naz Reid were each a +26 off the bench.

Randle did grab 9 rebounds, one game after Finch called him out directly for only having three defensive boards (of five total) in Friday's loss to the Trail Blazers. Still, the Wolves will need more out of Randle on Wednesday against the Rockets.