BOSTON — Jaylen Brown’s 23 points in the fourth quarter helped the (23-10) Boston Celtics escape with a home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night, 121-109.

After a three-game losing streak and dropping down the eastern conference standings, it was important for Boston to get back on track. The T’Wolves made it far from easy for the Celtics to get the W as the game was close for three quarters.

Going into halftime the Celtics trailed 56-54. The C’s found themselves down nine points midway through the third quarter, but two corner three’s by Al Horford at the end of the quarter gave the C’s a two-point lead. Horford finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds on five three’s. Robert Williams was out due to a non COVID illness.

Brown was the star, he finished with 36 points and seven rebounds. He ran the floor and scored on fast breaks, back cuts, and the deep shot that allowed him to take over the game. The C’s outscored Minnesota 33-23 in the fourth quarter.

Jayson Tatum had a nice game as well. He finished with 30 points on eight rebounds. Derrick White also helped in the backcourt with 18 points. Marcus Smart only dropped six points but finished with 10 assists.

As for the Wolves, Anthony Edwards was a problem on the court. He got straight buckets with 30 points but shot 30% from deep. D’angelo Russell finished with a double-double with 21 points and 10 assists. Those two were too quick and crafty when they created mismatches on the Celtics’ bigs.

This Celtics win put them back on their path of winning games and perhaps silencing the critics. Brown and Tatum were always getting buckets. But it’s the bench and inside defense that has struggled recently.

Celtics next game will be Christmas Day against the #1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks at 5 p.m. eastern.