Boston Celtics get back to rebounding well – and wins follow

The Celtics eked out a 91-84 win over the Timberwolves on Friday night thanks in large part to a dedicated rebounding effort.

Boston fans learned last month that when the Celtics struggle to rebound the ball, their record struggles as well.

The Boston Celtics had the third-worst rebound differential in the NBA in December, a staggering -1127 rating that trumped only the Phoenix Suns, the Orlando Magic and the Dallas Mavericks. Boston’s effort on the defensive glass was porous, as they yielded 410 offensive rebounds, the fifth-worst mark in the league.

Thus, they hit a bump in the road for the first time all season, losing consecutive games on December 20-21 for the first time since the opening pair of games in October.

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Now, the team has salvaged the defensive rebounding prowess that shocked Celtics supporters in the season’s opening month. During their blistering October start, the Celtics were seventh in rebounds per game (46.3) and sixth in the NBA in contested rebound percentage (36.1 percent).

During their last three games, Boston has returned to those scorching levels. The team leads in the NBA in rebounds per game over the past three contests with an average of 59.3, 2.3 rebounds above the second-place team, the Philadelphia 76ers, and a full five rebounds per game over the third-ranked team, the Washington Wizards.

The Celtics have hopped back into the driver’s seat of the Eastern Conference with a five-game winning streak on the heels of their rebounding. The last four wins have come at TD Garden, where Boston averages 53.7 rebounds per game, the eighth-best home average in the league.

On December 28, the team rallied back from a deep deficit to knock off the Houston Rockets, 99-98, behind a 57-52 total rebounding advantage and a 10-7 offensive rebounding margin. Three nights later, the Celtics defeated the Brooklyn Nets while garnering 42 defensive rebounds to their counterparts’ 34.

Boston proceeded to dominate Wednesday’s highly-anticipated rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 60-52 rebounding victory, a significant feat considering the defending Eastern Conference champions’ shellacking of the Celtics on the boards in the conference finals last spring.

And on Friday night, the Celtics put in their most glorious rebounding effort of the season. Boston outrebounded the Minnesota Timberwolves, 63-52, despite allowing the masterful Karl Anthony Towns to supplant his 25-point night with 23 rebounds. The Celtics grabbed 17 offensive rebounds while allowing Minnesota to just nine, and no other Timberwolves player besides Towns retrieved even five rebounds.

The Celtics, meanwhile, received rebounding contributions from all positions. Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis held down the frontcourt with 10 rebounds apiece while Boston’s two point guards, Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, each grabbed nine rebounds of their own. Six player had at least two offensive rebounds with Theis handling four, keeping Minnesota at bay despite the Celtics’ shooting 16.7 percent from the field.

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If Boston can continue to crash the glass with a vengeance, this team will continue to build on this winning streak.