MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Boston's winter of discontent continues, thanks to an old Celtic.

Ricky Davis' jumper from the corner with 0.2 seconds remaining dealt the Celtics' their franchise-record 18th straight loss in Minnesota's 109-107 victory on Sunday.

Davis finished with 28 points, Kevin Garnett had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists and another former Celtic, Mark Blount , added 20 points for the Wolves.

Paul Pierce scored 29 points for the Celtics, but even his steadying presence wasn't enough to lift Boston out of one of the lowpoints in the tradition-rich franchise's proud history.

The Celtics led by 10 points in the first half and 107-105 with 1:17 to play after Pierce fed Al Jefferson for a dunk.

But Garnett tied the game with two free throws, then got a steal on the defensive end to give the Wolves a chance to win it.

Rookie Randy Foye blew past Delonte West into the lane, then found a wide-open Davis in the corner for the game-winner, perhaps the most gut-wrenching loss in a long line of them for the Celtics.

The Utah Jazz also lost 18 straight in 1982 and seven teams have lost 19 games in a row. And the Celtics still have a ways to go to get to the NBA record for 24 straight losses that belongs to the Cleveland Cavaliers , a streak that spanned the end of the 1981-82 season and start of the 1982-83 season.

Boston was in control for the first 2 1/2 quarters before two of Pierce's old teammates brought Minnesota back.

Davis and Blount, who came to Minnesota in a midseason trade last year that brought Wally Szczerbiak and Michael Olowokandi to Boston, combined for 28 of the Wolves' 36 points in the third quarter.

Davis had 18 in the period, including three 3-pointers that helped Minnesota take its first lead of the game.

But even as that lead disappeared, with Davis' 3 from the corner giving Minnesota a 74-68 lead midway through the third period, Pierce held these young Celtics together.

Pierce returned on Friday night against the Nets after missing the previous 24 games with a stress reaction in his left foot and an infection in his left elbow. He was expectedly rusty in a loss to the Nets, scoring nine points on 4-of-16 shooting in 20 minutes.

In his second game back, and first start since Dec. 20, Pierce played 32 minutes and steadied the reeling Celtics with a 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter that gave Boston an 88-87 lead and started a back-and-forth final period.

Pierce's 3-pointer from the elbow gave Boston a 105-101 lead with 3:20 to go, and he smiled at Davis and Blount as he strutted back to the other end, convinced that things were finally going to go Boston's way.

Once again, however, the Celtics fell apart down the stretch with three turnovers in the final 90 seconds.

Notes: It was Garnett's 18th career triple-double and second in the last week. He had one last Wednesday against Golden State. ... Celtics F Wally Szczerbiak (ankle) and C Michael Olowokandi (illness), two former Timberwolves, did not make the trip. Rivers said there is a chance Szczerbiak will play on Wednesday. ... After coming off the bench in his first game back from injury on Friday, Pierce got the start on Sunday. ... The standing-room only crowd of 19,538 was just Minnesota's fourth sellout of the season.