Nikola Vucevic will remain unavailable with a broken finger when the Boston Celtics face the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night, but that doesn’t mean Boston won’t have a quality center.

Luka Garza has given the Celtics (47-23) more offense since Vucevic was injured on March 6. Garza averages 7.6 points for the season, but has scored at least 15 points in three of his last four games. That includes a season-high 22 in Friday night’s 117-112 victory over Memphis.

Garza also had seven rebounds, five of which came at the offensive end.

“He was great on both ends of the floor,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “He does a great job screening. They (the Grizzlies) play a hectic style. They put a ton of pressure on you from a physicality standpoint and you have to be able to read and make plays and play through physicality. No one’s better at that than Luka.”

Vucevic, who had surgery on his ring finger March 7, isn’t expected back until the first half of April, so Garza likely will maintain his more significant role until then.

“Guys have always stepped up,” Garza said. “In my position, just try to make the little plays and help us win. So it’s definitely fun when you’re the guy doing that.

“I love being a part of this team. We play hard every single night no matter what, and I think when you do that, you put yourself in a good position.”

Jaylen Brown tossed in 30 points during Friday’s game, which extended Boston’s winning streak to four. Brown averages 28.5 points, which ranks fifth in the NBA.

The Timberwolves (43-28) were again without Anthony Edwards and Naz Reid for Friday night’s 108-104 loss to Portland. Edwards, who’s dealing with inflammation in his right knee, ranks third in the NBA with his 29.5 points per game. The Timberwolves are 2-1 in the three games Edwards has missed with the injury. Reid has missed the last two games with a right ankle sprain.

Minnesota allowed 68 points in the first two quarters of Friday’s loss, but limited Portland to 40 in the final two quarters.

“There wasn’t defensive intensity in the first half,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “Thirty-three and 35 in the first two quarters and 40 in the last two tells the story.”

Minnesota trailed Portland by 18 at one point in the second quarter.

“Slow start … a step behind everything in the first quarter,” Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert said. “We got down 18 points and then we started playing hard. The last few games we’ve had a lot of these starts. We got to figure it out because we put ourselves in a tough position.

“We have to find a way to start the game more fired up — be mentally ready at the start of the game. It’s not physical, right? I think it’s just being mentally ready to start the game. We were warmed up, it’s not physical. It’s just mentally being a little sharper at the beginning of the game.”

–Field Level Media

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington carded a 6-under-par 65 on Saturday to forge a tie with Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee atop the leaderboard with a round to play at the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Ariz.

Harrington pocketed two impressive eagles over a three-hole stretch (holes 9-11) which also included a birdie as he surged into contention at La Paloma Country Club at 11 under for the tourney.

“You know, every hole out here, if you play it well, you’ve got a birdie chance. But it’s so difficult being committed to your shots,” Harrington said. “Nobody can expect to be perfect, but you’ve got to be committed to whatever number you come up with. Whatever formula you use, you’ve got to stick to it, and probably just roll with the punches when it doesn’t quite work out.”

Harrington finished with two eagles, five birdies and three bogeys.

Jaidee’s day was much calmer, as the veteran went bogey-free while snatching four birdies. His 4-under 67 followed a Friday round that more resembled Harrington’s Saturday: two eagles, four birdies and a bogey (64).

That had been good enough to position him in second, alongside South Africa’s Retief Goosen, who fell off the pace with a 2-over 73. That tumble left Goosen in a tie for 26th.

Defending champion Steven Alker of New Zealand might have raised eyebrows with his scintillating 9-under 62 that tied the course record and brought him back within striking distance at 9 under overall. No player has yet to successfully defend his title at the Cologuard Classic, but Alker will have a chance on Sunday.

“I just wanted to put up a good day to get back in the tournament,” Alker said. “Defending champ, so I wanted to kind of give it a good run. Kind of feel like I’ve put myself in there, three or four back, you never know at the end of the day. Yeah, it was a nice round. Some positive stuff going forward.”

Bo Van Pelt, who had also tied the course record with a 9-under-par 62 on Friday, shot 10 strokes worse than that in Round 2 (1-over 72), dropping him into a tie for eighth at 8 under for the tournament.

Two golfers are ahead of Alker in a tie for third at 10 under after shooting matching 67s: Tommy Gainey and Germany’s Bernhard Langer.

Zach Johnson (65) and Jason Caron (66) are tied with Alker in fifth.

–Field Level Media

Ava Heiden scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to help No. 2 seed Iowa survive a strong upset bid from No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson for a 58-48 win in Sacramento Region 4 first-round NCAA Tournament action Saturday in Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes (27-6) led by just two points entering the fourth quarter after they were outscored 16-15 over the middle two periods. Heiden accounted for half of the team’s scoring with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting and 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, all of which came in the final quarter.

Hannah Stuelke added 13 points and a career-high-tying 16 rebounds as Iowa overcame a 1-for-13 3-point performance by handily outrebounding the Knights 47-28 to win their seventh straight NCAA Tournament opener.

The Hawkeyes next host No. 10 seed Virginia on Monday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Fairleigh Dickinson’s only lead of the game came at 3-2, but the Knights (30-5) cut a 15-point first-quarter deficit to three points by the end of the first with a 12-0 run and trailed by one at halftime. Ava Renninger was the only Fairleigh Dickinson player in double figures with 13 points.

Bella Toomey tallied nine off the bench on a trio of treys, and Madlena Gerke and Kailee McDonald chipped in eight apiece as the Knights saw their 22-game winning streak come to an end.

No. 1 South Carolina 103, No. 16 Southern 34

Joyce Edwards scored 27 points to lead five Gamecocks players in double figures in a first-round romp over the Jaguars in Columbia, S.C.

Regional top seed South Carolina (32-3) will meet Southern Cal on Monday. Ta’Niya Latson had 17 points, Madina Okat and Agot Makeer both scored 15 and Tessa Johnson had 14 for the Gamecocks, who made 54.7% of their shots from the field.

Joceyln Tate had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench for Southern (20-14), which shot just 18.5% from the field and committed 20 turnovers. The Jaguars knocked off Samford on the same court two days earlier in the First Four, but they were no match for South Carolina.

The Gamecocks led 23-6 early in the second quarter and outscored Southern 32-2 in the third quarter.

Johnson, who also pulled in 10 rebounds, connected on four of South Carolina’s eight 3-point baskets, matching Southern’s 3-point total. Alicia Tournebize had 11 rebounds for South Carolina, which built a 57-33 rebounding edge.

No. 10 Virginia 82, No. 7 Georgia 73 (OT)

Kymora Johnson poured in 28 points and Sa’Myah Smith racked up 23 as the Cavaliers dominated overtime in a first-round victory in Iowa City, Iowa.

Romi Levy provided 14 points for No. 10 seed Virginia (21-11), which takes on the Fairleigh Dickinson-Iowa winner on Monday. The Cavaliers outscored Georgia 11-2 in the extra period.

Mia Woolfolk, a Virginia native, posted 27 points and Rylie Theuerkauf, aided by five 3-point baskets, compiled 22 points for seventh-seeded Georgia (22-10). Savannah Henderson had 11 points, but the Bulldogs shot 7 of 24 on 3-pointers.

With the score tied at 71-all, Georgia got off two shots in the final seconds of regulation but didn’t connect.

Georgia wasn’t able to take full advantage of a huge edge in free-throw opportunities, going 22 of 35 at the line. Virginia was just 12 of 15, with six of those attempts coming in the final two minutes of overtime.

No. 9 USC 71, No. 8 Clemson 67 (OT)

Jazzy Davidson scored six of her game-high 31 points in overtime as the Trojans outlasted the Tigers in a first-round matchup in Columbia, S.C.

After Clemson (21-12) took a three-point lead in overtime, Davidson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to put USC (18-13) ahead to stay. Kara Dunn scored 22, including four 3-pointers, and Kennedy Smith added 12 points and six rebounds for the Trojans.

Taylor Johnson-Matthews scored a team-high 16 for Clemson, which forced the extra session on two Mia Moore free throws with 50 seconds left. Moore finished with nine points, six rebounds and six assists, while Raven Thompson posted an 11-point, 12-rebound double-double. Morgan Lee chipped in 12 points off the bench.

The Trojans shot 45% (27 of 60) from the field while holding the Tigers to just 37.3% (22 of 59). Clemson won the rebound battle 37-33, but USC held a 32-26 edge in points in the paint.

–Field Level Media