BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown had 31 points and 10 rebounds on Sunday night to help the Boston Celtics to their sixth straight win, 134-112 over the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics won for the 24th time in their last 28 games and, combined with the 76ers’ loss to Phoenix a few minutes later, took the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings for the first time this season. READ MORE: ‘Our Teams they’re artists’: Take a first look at The Court of the Women’s Final Four in Minneapolis This victory came at the expense of a team that until recently had been one of the hottest in the NBA: Minnesota is 12-5 since the Game’s break All-Star team, winning 10 of 11 before returning to- losses to Phoenix and Dallas this week. Anthony Edwards scored 24 and Karl-Anthony Towns added 19 as the Timberwolves opened a four-game road trip with a loss, their third in four games. The Celtics scored 13 of the first 15 points in the game. second quarter to open a double-digit lead that never relinquished uido It was 72-49 at halftime. At the time, the only question was whether Tatum would go on to lead the NBA in scoring. He did, finishing the day with 1,923 points to pass Atlanta’s Trae Young (1,915) for the top spot. (Credit: Kathryn Riley/Getty Images) The Celtics star already has one of the 15 best scoring seasons in Celtics history and has seven games. he left to become the seventh player in franchise history to top 2,000 points in a season. He would join John Havlicek, Paul Pierce, Larry Bird, Isaiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, Sam Jones. READ MORE: Fiala scores in overtime to send wild to 3-2 win over Avalanche The Celtics were without forward Al Horford, who missed the game for undisclosed personal reasons. Minnesota missed Malik Beasley, who left Friday night’s game with a sprained ankle. FINE The NBA fined Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince $15,000 on Sunday for making an obscene gesture on the court in their 116-95 win over Dallas. Late in the third quarter of Friday night’s game, Dallas’ Prince and Luka Doncic were called for technical fouls for exchanging words. the Celtics up 26, and he didn’t come back. The team said he had a sprained left knee. … Brown and Tatum tested their sore knees before the game and were cleared to play. … Towns was eliminated by a substitute late in the third quarter. He walked off the court and went straight to the locker room. … It marks the seventh time this year that Tatum and Brown have scored at least 30 apiece.UP NEXTTimberwolves: At Toronto on Wednesday night.Celtics: At Toronto on Monday night.MORE NEWS: Prince of the Timberwolves fined $15,000 by obscene gesture(© Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)