Luka Garza came to Boston last summer seeking an opportunity he’d never had in Minnesota.
His former coach is happy he found it.
After three seasons buried on the Timberwolves’ bench behind a crew of talented big men, Garza has enjoyed a career year for the Celtics, serving as a valuable bench piece for one of the NBA’s best teams.
“It’s awesome,” Minnesota head coach Chris Finch said before Sunday’s Celtics-Wolves game at TD Garden. “All the credit to the organization here, Coach (Joe) Mazzulla and his staff, (for) figuring out how to best employ Luka. He’s a good player. We knew that from our time with him here. We just didn’t have quite the pathway to play him with all the bigs that we had. But he certainly helped us over the years. He was an unbelievable professional, a great person, and happy for his success.”
Finch, whose rosters during Garza’s tenure featured the likes of Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Karl-Anthony Towns and Julius Randle, praised Garza for the behind-the-scenes commitment and positive attitude he maintained despite his lack of playing time. Garza appeared in less than 40% of Minnesota’s games during his time with the franchise and averaged just 6.3 minutes per appearance.
“The first thing I give Luka a ton of credit for when he came to us is he completely transformed his body,” Finch said. “He lost all of his baby fat. He committed to the weight room. He became an incredible ambassador, if you will, an example for our young players. The guys who didn’t play heavy minutes or young players, he was kind of the leader of that pack. His positivity was off the charts. He set such an example of working — just a tireless worker, in the gym all the time — and just always supportive and positive.
“I think the key summer was the summer that Naz and Jaden (McDaniels) and Luka all worked out. They spent the summer in Minnesota and worked out every day, and then they’d go out to dinner at night. That was really a breakout season for Jaden and Naz, and it was in some ways for Luka too; he played spot minutes for us that year. There were times where he would come in and win us a quarter almost all by himself. That was what I remember most.”
Garza hasn’t been a locked-in rotation player in his first season with Boston. He fell out of favor for a stretch in November and December while Mazzulla favored smaller secondary lineups, then was leapfrogged on the depth chart by Nikola Vucevic after the Celtics acquired the veteran center last month.
But Garza was a consistently productive reserve from late December through early February, and since Vucevic’s fractured finger on March 6 pushed him back into the rotation, he owns the best net rating of any Celtics regular (plus-16.1).
Friday’s road win over the Memphis Grizzlies was one of the best statistical games of Garza’s career: 22 points, seven rebounds, five offensive rebounds, one steal, one turnover in 27 minutes off the bench. It also was the seventh time in eight games since Vucevic’s injury that Boston outscored its opponent with Garza on the floor.
Garza’s 23 double-digit scoring nights for the Celtics are more than he registered in his first four NBA seasons combined (16).
“One thing I will say about Luka is he’s an incredibly talented offensive player,” Finch said. “You’ve got to utilize what he can do, and they’ve done an excellent job with that here. A lot of backup bigs, sometimes they come in and just expect to be energy guys, run up and down, but Luka can put the ball in the basket, and that’s a unique skill set for a backup big.”
#### Tatum reentry ‘appropriate’
Finch had an interesting assessment of how Jayson Tatum has worked his way back into the Celtics’ lineup since his return from Achilles surgery on March 6. The Wolves coach described it as “super appropriate.”
“He’s come in understanding where to fit in, how to fit in,” Finch said. “Obviously, familiarity is key, selflessness. He’s still doing his thing, but they’re continuing to do the things that they’ve been doing all season that work for him, which is playing primarily through (Jaylen) Brown as an initiator, catalyst of everything. But you can see him kind of growing in confidence every game.”
Tatum still is smoothing out some wrinkles in his game, particularly as a shooter. As of Sunday, he was shooting 39.0% from the field and 29.4% from 3-point range, and his 3-for-15 showing against the Grizzlies was his worst in a game since 2023.
But his overall numbers have been encouraging (19.6 points, 8.6 rebounds per game), and Boston entered its Minnesota meeting with a 6-1 record with Tatum active.
#### Edwards out
Sunday’s Celtics-Timberwolves matchup at TD Garden lacked its usual star power.
Though Tatum and Brown both suited up for Boston, their opponent was missing its top star, Anthony Edwards, who missed his fourth straight game with right knee inflammation.
Edwards, Minnesota’s four-time All-Star guard, ranks third in the NBA in scoring this season (29.5 points per game) behind Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He has a string of big games against Boston on his resume, including a 39-point, five-assist showing in the Wolves’ home win on Nov. 29.
Edwards hit a 3-pointer with 14 seconds remaining in that game to help seal a 119-115 victory for Minnesota. It was the seventh consecutive Celtics-Wolves matchup that was decided by four points or fewer or went to overtime (and Edwards played in all of them).
The Timberwolves have taken a balanced approach to replacing Edwards’ production. Five different players scored between 17 and 23 points in Wednesday’s blowout win over the Utah Jazz. Six Wolves scored between 13 and 19 points Friday in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Brown, who suffered a left quad contusion during Boston’s victory over Memphis, was upgraded from probable to available before tipoff Sunday night.
#### Off the rim
The Celtics’ next two games are against two of the NBA’s hottest teams. The Oklahoma City Thunder, who will visit TD Garden on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.), have won a league-best 11 straight. The Atlanta Hawks (Friday, 7:30 p.m.) have won 12 of their last 13. … The NBA flexed Boston’s April 1 matchup against Miami to ESPN, bumping Atlanta-Orlando out of that timeslot. That means the Celtics now are scheduled to play five of their final 12 regular-season games on national TV: Sunday vs. Minnesota on NBC/Peacock, April 1 at Miami on ESPN, April 5 vs. Toronto on NBA TV, April 7 vs. Charlotte on NBC/Peacock and April 9 at New York on Prime Video.