Jaylen Brow, Jayson Tatum dig deep to lead Celtics past Timberwolves

Brown’s defense on Anthony Edwards forced the All-Star and Olympian into an awkward position on the game’s final play, and he passed to Jaden McDaniels, who fed Naz Reid, who drained the potential game-winning 3-pointer just moments after the buzzer.

The win was earned with defense down the stretch, but the lead was built with Brown and Tatum combining to hit 12 of the Celtics’ 21 3-pointers. Before the game, Minnesota coach Chris Finch called the Celtics a “headache” because of their 3-point versatility.

The Celtics are especially difficult to defend when Tatum and Brown both hit threes consistently. Brown entered the game having made just 25 of his 88 attempts, then canned the early five before his teammates could even manage a bucket.

Tatum hit his five to help the Celtics build a 19-point lead before the Timberwolves rallied.

Both are still trying to become more consistent from beyond the arc. Sunday was an encouraging sign.

“I felt like I hadn’t shot the ball to start the season as well as I would have liked,” Brown said. “But I felt like I had to get to a lot of marks. I felt like my shot was good. I feel like I’m a great shooter. But I also feel like I’m good at other things too, getting to the basket , getting to the paint, drawing opportunities for my guys. It’s a long season and I’m focused on trying to win.”

It is the primary goal for the Celtics to gradually improve as the season progresses, rack up wins and stay in the top two of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics won’t be whole until Kristaps Porzingis returns, but they continue to rack up wins without him and with Tatum and Brown trying to get their collective shots in top form.

For Tatum, many of the 10 misses in Washington were good looks. He wasted no time lamenting his 3-point 0-fer. He has more confidence in his shot than that. After a scoreless first period against the Timberwolves, he drained five 3-pointers in the second and third quarters.

Before that 0-for-10 clip, Tatum hit 16 of his previous 28 3-pointers as he continues to reform his jump shot.

“Sometimes the (expletive) just doesn’t sink in,” Tatum said when asked about his night in Washington. “I didn’t do anything extra. We had a day off (Saturday); I had fun with (son) Deuce all day. I came in excited to play again. I knew I wasn’t going to go 0 for 10 tonight.”

Tatum is shooting 37.4 percent on threes this season, an improvement from the 28.3 mark from last postseason. He said he tries not to let bad shooting nights like Friday affect him long term. He’s a proven long-range shooter, but consistency has been an issue in recent years.

“I think earlier in my career (falls) would have bothered me a lot more,” he said. “But you understand there’s so much more basketball to be played. There’s so many plays and in those moments you feel like you’re the only person missing shots, but every great player, every great shooter has been through slump where they didn’t shoot well They always bounce and/or react.

“I think having moments like that in my career, tougher shooting nights, has become easier to live with as I’ve gotten older.”

Tatum also helped the Celtics on the boards after Minnesota dominated that category early on. Rudy Gobert pulled down 20 rebounds in 34 minutes, but the Celtics collectively prevented him from dominating the paint in the second half while the defense on Edwards and Julius Randle was critical down the stretch.

The Timberwolves are a dark horse candidate to reach the Finals and have matched up with the Celtics in recent years. Tatum and Brown, along with Derrick White, were catalysts in making sure the Celtics had enough to hang on for what was a quality win.

They won’t all be pretty, but it was a step forward.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.