BOSTON — The fans showered former Celtic Kevin Garnett with chants, and Boston rained key 3-pointers on the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kelly Olynyk scored 19 points, Jae Crowder had 18 and the Celtics beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-99 on Monday night while the crowd begged to see Garnett.

Celtics guard Evan Turner drives to the basket past Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine in the first quarter of Boston’s home win Monday night. The Associated Press

Celtics guard Avery Bradley blocks a shot by Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine in the second half of Monday night’s game. Boston won, 113-99. The Associated Press

Former Celtics star Kevin Garnett, now playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves, acknowledges the Boston crowd during a timeout. Garnett was cheered throughout the game on his return to Boston. The Associated Press

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who: Boston Celtics at Charlotte Hornets

when: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Television: CSN

“Three-point shooting is probably the next most contagious thing to the flu,” forward Olynyk joked. “When one person knocks them down, they usually come in waves, so it’s good to get people going that way.”

Boston was 12 of 25 from behind the arc, two off its season high.

Tyler Zeller scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out. David Lee had 13 points and eight rebounds to help Boston snap a three-game losing streak.

Minnesota Coach Sam Mitchell said before the game that the 39-year-old Garnett would rest because it was the second of back-to-backs after the Timberwolves beat Brooklyn. The crowd loudly chanted “We want KG!” close to a dozen times.

“I definitely heard all the chants,” Garnett said. “It meant a lot to me. I would like to say Minnesota made me a young man and I grew up when I came to Boston.”

Garnett signed a two-year deal with Minnesota over the summer, but this could have been his last game in Boston.

Garnett was a member of Boston’s 2007-08 NBA championship team after he was traded from Minnesota in the summer of ’07. He played for the Celtics for six seasons, helping them to the finals again in 2010 when they dropped a seven-game series to the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I watched KG growing up and I’ve played against him for seven years, and I know he’s one of the toughest competitors there is,” Boston forward Jonas Jerebko said. “I played against him here in Boston and I know how much he was loved here and brought a championship here with this team. It was fun to see.”

The 15-time All-Star was traded to Brooklyn after the 2012-13 season.

The Nets then dealt him back to the Timberwolves, his original franchise.

Andrew Wiggins led the Timberwolves with 26 points. Karl-Anthony Towns had 25 and 16 rebounds.

Minnesota has lost its last 10 games in Boston, dating back to a 99-97 victory on March 6, 2005.

The Celtics led by 18 points with 7 minutes to play and the fans changed the chant to “K-G! K-G!” Finally, giving up hope of seeing him play, they serenaded him with “Thank you, KG!” He stood up and waved to a standing ovation while the celebration song that became famous during Boston’s championship run was played.

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