The Boston Celtics took on the Minnesota Timberwolves at home, and dominated in the second half and won 134-112. Watch the Celtics full game highlights here.
The Boston Celtics are officially the No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference.
With Sunday's 134-112 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the C's leapfrogged the Philadelphia 76ers and tied with the Miami Heat for the top seed. The Celtics do own the tiebreaker vs. the Heat and will host Miami on Wednesday night. The Sixers fell to the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, 114-104.
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Boston has now won six consecutive games with five of those wins coming by at least 20 points. Eight of its last 11 games have been double-digit victories.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown starred again for the Celtics with 34 and 31 points, respectively. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard contributed 15 and 11 off the bench.
Anthony Edwards paced Minnesota with 24 points while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 19.
Here are a few instant takeaways from the Celtics' victory, which brings them to 47-28 with seven regular-season games remaining. They'll head to Toronto for the second night of a back-to-back vs. the Raptors on Monday.
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No rust for the Jays
The Celtics entered Sunday's game with three days of rest. Sometimes that time off can lead to rust, but C's stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown simply picked up where they left off.
Tatum dropped 34 points and Brown added 31 to mark the seventh time this season they've both scored 30+ points in a game. Boston is 11-0 all-time when its two All-Stars accomplish that feat.
The TD Garden crowd showered Tatum with MVP chants and at this point, it's time to give the 24-year-old serious recognition. This was his ninth 30+ point performance in his last 11 games. By taking his game to the next level, he's helped the Celtics become the team to beat in the conference.
Brown has now put up at least 25 points in all six of the Celtics' wins during their current streak. He also notched 10 rebounds on the night as well as a sweet alley-oop off the glass, courtesy of Marcus Smart.
Celtics bench stays red-hot
The C's second unit has been a revelation during Boston's recent surge. It was outstanding Sunday evening with a combined 42 points on 14-of-25 shooting.
Payton Pritchard continued his unbelievable stretch from beyond the arc. The second-year guard drilled three of his five 3-pointers, making him 20-for-29 from 3 over his last five games. He finished with 11 points, his sixth straight game with double-digits in the scoring column.
Another nice sight for the C's was Derrick White seemingly breaking out of his offensive slump. White notched 15 points -- including Boston's first eight points of the second quarter -- on 4-of-6 shooting (2-of-4 from 3). He also logged six assists and a steal in 30 minutes.
Aaron Nesmith added some energy off the bench in the first half, a good sign for the Celtics after he missed time due to injury. He finished with six points, four rebounds, and a steal in 16 minutes.
Robert Williams exits with injury
Despite earning another dominant win and snagging the top seed in the East, it wasn't all good news for the Celtics. Big man Robert Williams, who's been key to their remarkable turnaround, went down with what the team called a left knee sprain.
Williams won't travel with the team on the trip to Toronto. He'll undergo testing Monday to determine the extent of the injury.
C's head coach Ime Udoka said after the game Williams was in "quite a bit of pain," but doesn't remember a single play where the injury occurred.
The Celtics will keep their fingers crossed hoping Williams returns sooner rather than later. The 24-year-old has been a walking double-double this season and is in the running for Defensive Player of the Year. With only seven games left in the campaign, now is not the time to lose one of your biggest contributors.
Williams finished with 13 points, 10 boards and an emphatic block of Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Celtics will travel to Toronto on Monday night to face the Raptors. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston.