MINNEAPOLIS — Jae Crowder had made his decision to play through his ankle pain, but he had to make another call during last night’s 99-93 win over the Timberwolves.

To reach his optimum performance level would mean giving the left ankle more time to heal. But after suffering the sprain on Nov. 2 and remaining out eight games, it was time to go back to work, so he played — and played relatively well — in the Celtics’ victory against the Pistons Saturday. He was doing all right vs. Minnesota last night, as well, but the ankle acted up and he left the game for good with 4:01 to go in the third quarter.

“I pulled myself,” Crowder said. “I couldn’t go any more, but I’ll be fine.”

As for whether he’ll need to take some time off now, he said, “I’m going to figure it out. I’m going to get treatment before I fly (to New York today). I’m leaving it in the hands of my body. When it tells me I can’t go, I’ve got to listen to it. That’s what happened (last night).”

Earlier in the day, Crowder acknowledged that he was far from 100 percent and trying to work through the situation.

“I could sit out two months and feel nothing, but I don’t think that’s the right thing to do at this point,” he said. “I’m just doing what I’ve got to do to get it to where I don’t feel nothing in my ankle again.

“I still feel discomfort in my ankle, so I’ll just try to play through it. If (the pain) doesn’t slow down or doesn’t decrease, I’ll sit out a few more games. But as of now we’re just going to try to play through it.”

On the brighter side of the health spectrum, Al Horford isn’t looking back after return from nine games out with a concussion. He has had no limitations and requires no further maintenance.

“I thought that once I reached this point I knew I was going to be fine,” he said. “Once I felt good enough to play, I was comfortable with whatever was next.”

Angry Isaiah

The 5-foot-9 Isaiah Thomas and 6-11 Gorgui Dieng got into it early in the third quarter when the latter bulled Thomas over with a hard pick from behind. The Celt guard got up and went at Dieng, but the two were separated.

Thomas said that type of play makes him angry. “It does,” he said, “because I’m already little. You don’t got to hit me that hard to get your man open. When they try to take me out, that’s when I get a little (ticked) off.

“It was the heat of the battle,” he added. “We talked about it after. He loves my game; I love his, so we’re good.”

Battling buddies

Two friends battled each other, as Dominican Republic national team members Horford and Karl-Anthony Towns dueled. The former has been a mentor to the Minnesota center, who is nine years his junior.

“Al was my KG before KG,” said Towns, referencing Kevin Garnett. “Me and him have always been tremendously close. Our families are tremendously close.”

Horford was playing an exhibition in Kentucky with the Dominican squad when he first encountered Towns, who was one of the junior program players invited to attend.

“I think he was 14 at the time, and what impressed me right away was he wore a size 18 shoe, 17 or 18,” Horford said. “He was just very impressive right off the bat, and then I saw him shoot a little bit, and he was already shooting 3’s and very comfortable at that age. That was something that really struck me.

“I’ve just tried to lead by example, and Karl’s a very smart man. From a very young age, he was very mature, just a really good work ethic. We all knew it was just going to be a matter of time of when he was going to be at this level and dominating the way that he’s been.”

Said Towns, “I think Al is really the first person who really got me to understand how important the mid-range shot was, and I think that’s treated me tremendously well, especially my first two years in the league. So that’s a big thanks to Al for really raising my eyes to how special and unique it is to have that mid-range shot.”

Dunn deals with it

The C’s spent much of draft day trying to work out a trade that would have included them losing the No. 3 overall pick. But when last-minute talks with Philadelphia fell through and they were making the choice, it came down to Jaylen Brown and Providence’s Kris Dunn.

“I knew I had a chance to go to Boston, but throughout the whole draft process I heard Philly, Boston and the Timberwolves,” said Dunn, who went here at No. 5 after Phoenix took Dragan Bender.

For a native of New London, Conn., it might be assumed that he would be upset missing out on a chance to play for a relatively local team. But Dunn has a good perspective on the issue.

“I think that would be the biggest advantage — you know, close to home, family and friends, always around them,” he said. “But, you know, that’s a good and a bad at the same time. The good is you’re around them, and the bad is you’re around them too much. It can get overwhelming, so there’s good and bad to that.”

And there’s also the fact the Celtics weren’t his favorite team.

“To be honest, no,” he said with a smile. “The Lakers were, actually, because I was a Kobe Bryant fan.”