Kevin Love leads Wolves over Celtics 104-89 in NBA pre-season game in Montreal

MONTREAL – Kevin Love’s 22 points and nine rebounds led the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 104-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in NBA pre-season action Sunday night at the Bell Centre.

The game was held in Montreal as part of the 2013 NBA Canada series.

Kevin Martin had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Timberwolves (3-2). Ricky Rubio led the team with seven assists.

Gerald Wallace ended the game with 16 points and three assists for Boston (1-6).

This was Minnesota’s first pre-season game in a week. The Timberwolves hadn’t played since Oct. 12 when they lost to the Toronto Raptors at home.

The Celtics lost back-to-back games last week against the Nets and Raptors, both by two points.

After a 12-point Minnesota run early in the first quarter, Celtics coach Brad Stevens called a timeout to calm his team’s nerves. The score was 18-7.

Boston settled down and answered with a 9-0 run that saw Wallace score twice on quick breaks. The Celtics trailed 31-27 at the end of the quarter.

The Timberwolves retained their slim advantage throughout the second quarter, and led 57-51 at the half. Wolves guard Love led all teams in scoring at the half with 16 points.

Minnesota kept Boston at bay in the third with good three-point shooting by Love. The T-Wolves led 81-72 at the start of the fourth quarter.

That’s when Minnesota began pulling away. Led by bench-player J.J. Barea’s six points, the Timberwolves outscored Boston 23-17 in the final quarter.

The Celtics, who are rebuilding for the future, were without Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, who were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a franchise-altering off-season deal.

Point guard Rajon Rondo, who played with Pierce and Garnett for six years prior to the trade, missed the game with a knee injury. Rondo underwent surgery in February to repair a torn knee ligament, and hasn’t played since.

Toronto-born forward Kelly Olynyk had four points for the Celtics on 2-for-4 shooting in 19 minutes of playing time.

The Timberwolves will open the season Oct. 30 at home against Orlando.

The Celtics’ first game is against Toronto at Air Canada Centre on the same night.