Bass rebounds in C's win over Timberwolves

BOSTONTwo fouls in the first quarter wasn't quite the start that Brandon Bass was looking for against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It didn't matter.
Bass' ability to rebound, literally and figuratively, was more important as the Celtics -- behind a strong third quarter from Bass -- defeated the Timberwolves 104-94.
All five of Boston's starters tallied double digits scoring, with Bass seemingly the least likely after a horrible first half in which he was plagued by foul trouble.
But the 6-foot-8 forward bounced back with 12 points -- 10 of which came in the third quarter -- to go along with eight rebounds.
"Right place, right time," said Bass who was part of a Celtics unit that outscored Minnesota 32-21 in the third.
But as disappointed as Bass was in his play early on, he was just as determined to turn things around in the second half.
His mindset at that point was pretty simple.
"Just keep playing, keep grinding, keep working," Bass said. "Things will work out."
One by one, the ball kept winding up in Bass' hands in the third and one after another, he knocked down shots -- all five of his third-quarter shots, actually.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers has a number of sermon-like messages he gives to his team throughout the course of a season. Among them is giving one's self to the team, something that Rivers was told former Celtic and current Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins was discussing recently.
"When you do that, it's amazing how many good things happen," Rivers said. "Just go and play your game, play hard and kind of get lost in execution. Good things happen, and I thought that was Brandon in the second half."
Scoring has never been an issue for Bass, whose mid-range game on pick-and-pop plays is among the best on the roster.
But he's starting to become more of a force on the boards, something the Celtics needed desperately against Minnesota which came into Wednesday's game as one of the best in the NBA.
"We know we've been struggling with that (rebounding) in the past," said Bass who is averaging 5.6 rebounds per game which is tied for second on the C's with Paul Pierce. "We want to improve on that."