``I'm just trying to get guys time, and to get them to feel good about being on the floor,'' the first-year coach said before the game at the Target Center.

The Celtics typically don't help in the self-esteem process.

``They're such a good team, so poised. They really know what they're doing offensively,'' Rambis said. ``We showed our guys a tape of them just sharing the ball. If one of their guys had a good shot but someone else had a better shot, they passed it every time.''

Fast forward to the end of the first quarter last night and the Celtics were back in their huddle, a little stunned.

The Timberwolves, behind an 11-point first quarter from old friend Al Jefferson, had just put a 27-point quarter on the board for a 27-22 lead.

The quarter point total was a season high by a Celtics opponent, and not a good indication of where this game was going.

Three minutes into the second quarter, the Celtics were trailing by a 31-24 score and the Timberwolves were shooting 53.8 percent from the floor.

Former Celtic Ryan Gomes and rookie point guard Jonny Flynn were a combined 5-for-5 from the field.

And though the Celtics were shooting 48 percent, they were disjointed on offense.

Even the bench, which turned Tuesday night's win in Philadelphia into a laugher, had trouble finding the proper gear.

Leave it to Shelden Williams, though, to provide a little stability.

The reserve forward dunked off a backdoor cut and the next time down the floor drew contact after grabbing an offensive board.

He hit both free throws, Rasheed Wallace followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, and the score was now tied at 31.

Kendrick Perkins, guarded by his old friend, banked a jump hook over Jefferson to tie the game at 33 a minute later.

The problem was Minnesota's groove.

Even with the Celtics starters back on the floor, the Timberwolves continued to score without much opposition.

Flynn's 3-pointer with 3:56 left in the half was good for a 38-35 lead, and kicked off a 12-4 Timberwolves run. Wallace, sitting on the bench, was whistled for a technical foul shortly after coach Doc Rivers protested in vain that a Ray Allen jumper should have been ruled a 3-pointer.

Corey Brewer converted Minnesota's second three-point play of the run for a 47-39 Minnesota lead.

Garnett and Oleksiy Pecherov traded hoops, and the Celtics were unable to get off a shot in the last seven seconds, thanks mainly to Gomes' pressure on Paul Pierce.

As the result the Celtics experienced another first - their first halftime deficit of the season, with Minnesota taking a 49-41 lead into the locker room.

- mrmurphy@bostonherald.com