The Boston Celtics defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 145-136, at TD Garden on Friday evening.

The Celtics (27-26) and the Timberwolves (13-40) played a tight contest that needed five extra minutes to find a winner, but Boston ended coming out on top after overtime to move over the .500 threshold while the Timberwolves have reached the 40-loss tally far quicker than what they would've liked it. Boston got off to a slow start in this game, though, and the Timberwolves jumped out to a 39-25 lead in the first quarter but the Celtics responded with a series of strong performances -- Brad Stevens' team won the three remaining quarters by 32-27, 35-31 and 32-27, respectively. The game needed five extra minutes to find a winner, but Boston was far sharper than Minnesota and outscored the Timberwolves by a 21-12 score to run away with the win. Boston shot 54 percent from the field and 45.2 percent from three-point range in the win, while Minnesota made 49 percent of their shots and 35.7 percent of their three-point shots.

Jayson Tatum delivered one of the best performances of his career Friday, as he carried the Celtics offensively with a 53-point performance that also included 10 rebounds and four assists. Jaylen Brown contributed 26 points and five rebounds, while Marcus Smart chipped in with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Kemba Walker had 17 points but also added nine assists and seven boards. These four players carried Boston offensively.

Karl-Anthony Towns was the best player for Minnesota since he ended with 30 points while adding 12 rebounds, seven assists and a steal. Anthony Edwards notched 24 points, five rebounds and five assists, while D'Angelo Russell came off the bench and supplied 26 points with eight assists and four rebounds across 29 minutes. Josh Okogie notched 16 points and Jalen McDaniels added 11 points too.