Brown’s defense of Anthony Edwards forced the All-Star and Olympian into an awkward position on the final play of the game, and he passed to Jaden McDaniels, who fed Naz Reid, who unleashed the potential game-winning 3-pointer just after the buzzer.

The win came with defense down the stretch, but the lead was built when Brown and Tatum combined to hit 12 of the Celtics’ 21 3-pointers. Before the game, Minnesota coach Chris Finch called the Celtics a “headache” because of their three-point versatility.

The Celtics are especially difficult to defend when Tatum and Brown are both hitting threes consistently. Brown entered the game having attempted just 25 of his 88 attempts, giving up the first five attempts before his teammates could even save a bucket.

Tatum hit his five to help the Celtics build a 19-point lead before the Timberwolves rallied.

Both are still trying to become more consistent from beyond the arc. Sunday was an encouraging sign.

“I felt like I didn’t shoot the ball as well as I would have liked to start the season,” Brown said. “But I felt like I had to get a lot of makeup. I felt like my shot was good. I feel like I’m a great shooter. But I also feel like I’m good at other things as well: getting to the basket, getting in the paint, creating opportunities for my guys. It’s just a balance. It’s a long season and I’m focused on getting wins.”

That’s the primary goal for the Celtics: gradually improve as the season progresses, collect wins and stay in the top two of the Eastern Conference. The Celtics won’t be complete until Kristaps Porzingis returns, but they continue to rack up wins without him and as Tatum and Brown try to get their combined prospects into top form.

For Tatum, many of those 10 Washington misses looked good. He didn’t spend any time regretting his 3-point 0-fer. He’s more confident in his shot than that. After a scoreless first period against the Timberwolves, he drained five 3-pointers in the second and third quarters.

Before that 0-for-10 clip, Tatum hit 16 of his previous 28 3-pointers as he continues to reshape his jump shot.

“Sometimes those (expletives) just don’t come in,” Tatum said when asked about his night in Washington. “I didn’t do anything extra. We had a day off (Saturday); I was chilling with (son) Deuce all day. I came in excited to play again. I knew I wasn’t going to go 0 for 10 tonight.”

Tatum is shooting 37.4 percent on threes this season, an improvement from last postseason’s 28.3 percent. He said he’s trying to keep bad shooting nights like Friday from affecting him in the long run. He is a proven long-range shooter, but consistency has been an issue in recent years.

“I think I would have suffered a lot more from (slump) earlier in my career,” he said. “But you understand that there is so much more basketball that can be played. There are so many games and in those moments you feel like you’re the only one missing shots, but every great player, every great shooter has gone through a slump where they didn’t shoot great. They are always bouncing and/or responding.

“I think moments like that in my career, tougher shooting nights, have become easier to live with as I’ve gotten older.”

Tatum also helped the Celtics get on the boards after Minnesota dominated that category early on. Rudy Gobert pulled down 20 rebounds in 34 minutes, but the Celtics collectively prevented him from dominating the paint in the second half, while defense on Edwards and Julius Randle was key down the stretch.

The Timberwolves are a dark horse candidate to reach the Finals and have competed with the Celtics in recent years. Tatum and Brown, along with Derrick White, were the catalysts that made sure the Celtics had enough to hold on for a quality win.

They won’t all be pretty, but it was a step forward.

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.