Boston @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2018 ) Minnesota 84, Boston 91

The Boston Celtics could be without All-Star guard Kyrie Irving once again when they finish a three-game road trip at the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday. Irving, who is hampered by a knee injury and could be held out through the week, was absent Monday when the Celtics rolled past the Chicago Bulls 105-89.

They are 5-1 since the All-Star break and entered Wednesday's action trailing first-place Toronto by two games in the Eastern Conference. The Timberwolves have been without an All-Star guard of their own in Jimmy Butler and suffered back-to-back road losses to fellow playoff contenders Portland and Utah. The already-shorthanded squad lost All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns and point guard Jeff Teague to ejections in a testy 116-108 loss to the Jazz on Friday. "The rebounding, I thought, was a problem the whole game," coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after losing that category 45-27. "It was a big concern going into the game. But I thought our guys kept fighting. Obviously when you lose (Towns), you're losing your best rebounder. But they kept battling. I thought we had a shot down the stretch and then we had some tough breaks."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE CELTICS (45-20): Jaylen Brown scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting against the Bulls while Shane Larkin stepped into the starting lineup in Irving's place and went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in 16 minutes. "He was great," coach Brad Stevens said of Larkin. "It's one of the things we talked about -- who should start? We trust all three of those guys. Then it becomes who you want to play off the bench. But (Larkin) was really good." Forward Al Horford chipped in 13 points while shooting 6-of-8 from the floor after going 13-of-42 in the first five games out of the All-Star break.

ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES (38-28): Minnesota is 25-7 at home and gets a full five days of rest following the loss to Utah, which could pay big dividends as the team attempts to make the postseason for the first time in 14 years. "I think the biggest thing for us is, one, rest," Towns told the Star Tribune. "Two, mental recharge. And then to be able to come back and really get right. Get in tune, tweak some things in our offense and defense to be ready for what is, for some of us — especially me and [Andrew Wiggins] — the biggest stretch of our career so far. It's that big." The Timberwolves entered Wednesday tied for fifth in the West, 1 1/2 games out of third place but just 2 1/2 up on the ninth-place Los Angeles Clippers.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The Celtics are 5-2 without Irving in the lineup and the Timberwolves are 4-6 without Butler.

2. Wiggins went 4-of-4 from beyond the arc en route to 27 points against Utah, his fifth straight game with over 20 points.

3. Marcus Smart scored a team-high 18 points to lead Boston to a 91-84 win over Minnesota at home in the first meeting just over two months ago.

PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Timberwolves 107