Celtics take over No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference with 7 games remaining

After yet another impressive win — this time over the red-hot Timberwolves, owners of NBA’s second-best net rating in March — the Celtics took over the 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics’ impressive climb from the bottom of the play-in tournament to the upper echelon of the conference started with their nine-game winning streak in February, which culminated in their merciless beatdown of the 76ers.

On Sunday, the Celtics avenged an early-season loss — arguably their worst of the year — to a Timberwolves team that was without its entire starting lineup and rotation at the time. Jaylen Nowell, Greg Monroe and two-way big man Nathan Knight “carved up” the Celtics (to steal Ime Udoka’s…