BOSTON – Personal fouls have been on the rise for the Boston Celtics over their last two matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers. Coach Brad Stevens wants to put an end to the trend.

Boston committed 20 fouls Saturday afternoon during Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, followed by a playoff-high of 28 fouls Monday evening during Game 4. Both of those tallies exceed Boston’s regular-season average of 19.7 personal fouls per game, so Stevens is hoping that the team will drop down below that number Wednesday night in Game 5 at TD Garden.

“Obviously it’s two games in a row (we’ve racked up fouls), so that’s something that we need to really be alert to,” Stevens said Tuesday afternoon during a conference call with the media. “There are things that we think we can do better technically with being more prepared, being in a stance, being down and ready earlier, making contact earlier, those types of things. And then there’s clearly some matchups that we’ll look at.”

Four of Boston’s players found themselves in foul trouble by halftime Monday evening, with Jaylen Brown, Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum all picking up three personals apiece before the break. For Brown and Tatum specifically, it marked the second straight game that they both notched three fouls ahead of halftime.

Of course, there are multiple drawbacks that come with early foul trouble.

First of all, it puts the opposing team in the bonus, increasing its probability of earning trips to the free-throw line. Secondly, individuals who are in foul trouble tend to play more passively on the defensive end so that they do not face the potential risk of disqualification.

With all of that being noted, Stevens made it clear that his approach and the team's game plan does not change whether a player has committed five fouls or zero.

“I don’t think anybody here gets too out of sorts about foul trouble,” said the coach. “Very rarely do we take guys out for that.”

Still, it’s an issue that Boston needs to address heading into Game 5. The last thing it wants is for a key player to foul out with the contest on the line.

So, how do the Celtics begin to correct the issue?

“It starts with transition,” said Stevens. “And then it goes into guarding the half court. And then, obviously, finishing plays. The more offensive rebounds and opportunities like that that they get, the more susceptible you are to fouling with the ball in the paint.”

The Celtics are allowing 14.0 offensive rebounds per game during this series, which is a huge spike from their regular-season average of 9.6 ORPG. As Stevens alluded to, the more offensive rebounds they allow, the more likely they are to commit fouls around the basket.

If Boston can be more disciplined as a collective unit on the defensive end, the rebounding problems and foul troubles should both reduce. Accomplish that, and the C’s should give themselves a better chance of walking away Wednesday night with a series-clinching win over Philly.