As Boston dug out from a blizzard that blanketed the city underneath a foot of snow, the Celticsswatted aside Minnesota in a 122-104 victory at TD Garden.
The Celtics made it look so easy they secured a double-digit lead they would not relinquish with 3:29 remaining in the first quarter.
Though the Wolves had a chance to whittle Boston’s 26-point margin to 10 with five minutes to play, their early nap cost them dearly and allowed the Celtics to improve to 4-0 against them since acquiring Kevin Garnett from Minnesota in July 2007.
“In the words of Coach, we just weren’t playing hard. That was the difference.”
Minnesota did make a fool’s gold run towards the end — typical when one team keeps its starters in against the leader’s bench — but Paul Pierce returned to put an end to all the mischief with a triple that stretched the lead back to 19.