The Minnesota Timberwolves were inches away from forcing overtime.

With 3.1 seconds left and a three-second deficit, Minnesota had one last chance to send it to an extra session. Julius Randle passed the ball to Anthony Edwards, but his game-winning 3-point attempt hit the front of the hoop.

The result was a 118-115 loss for the Wolves on Thursday night at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

The Wolves (17-15) opened the fourth quarter with a 9-3 run that included two 3-pointers from Donte DiVincenzo that tied the game at 94-94 with over nine minutes to play. The Celtics (25-9) and Wolves then traded blows, and Minnesota got within 118-115 with less than a minute left. They forced Jayson Tatum into a missed shot, Nickeil Alexander-Walker grabbed the defensive rebound and gave the Wolves a chance to tie the game with 3.1 seconds left.

Tatum still finished the game with a game-high 33 points.

The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis due to injuries.

In a sign of how well the Celtics were shooting, Derrick White hit a three-pointer with just over two minutes left to put them ahead 118-110. This was essentially the dagger to Boston. White finished the game with 26 points.

The Celtics had only one turnover in the second half and shot 50% from the field for the game.

Jaden McDaniels scored eight points in the first quarter as the Wolves got off to a strong start, winning the first frame 35-28. But they scored just 16 points in the second quarter as Boston jumped out to a double-digit lead.

McDaniels finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Julius Randle led Minnesota with 27 points, eight boards and seven assists. Naz Reid had 20 off the bench. Anthony Edwards had 15 points and six assists and scored just six points after halftime.