Brandon Bass comes big as the Boston Celtics rout the Philadelphia 76ers to take a 3-2 lead – NBA Playoffs Recap
Brandon Bass had a career high tying 27 points as the Boston Celtics came alive in the 2nd half to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 101-85 in game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals.
The win gave the Celtics a 3-2 lead in the series, with game 6 to be played in Philadelphia on Wednesday.
“I thought the biggest difference was his energy. I thought he went after rebounds, he played with a force, and I just thought he let himself go” said Celtics coach Doc Rivers said referring to Bass.
Elton Brand, who has been suffering from a sore neck, led the Sixers in scoring with 19 points and 3 rebounds. His performance in the first 4 games of the series was below average.
The Sixers led 50-47 at halftime and seemed to be in control of the match. Brand was hot in the first half, scoring on 6 of his first 8 attempts. However, with Boston down 55-57 in the third period, they went on a 20-9 run to close
the third period and take a 75-66 lead into the final period.
Bass scored 18 point in the third period alone, the highest any player has scored in a single quarter this post-season.
LeBron James now has the second highest score with the 17 points he scored in the final period of game 3 against the New York Knicks. The Sixers committed 5 turnovers in 6 possessions during the third period which allowed the Celtics
a chance to capitalize, and they did, running away with the lead.
“You can't play like that, you can't play one-handed against this team. You can't make careless, one-handed passes against this team. They're too good. We did not meet the tenacity that they played with from the middle of the third
quarter on” said Sixers coach Doug Collins referring to his team’s poor play in the 2nd half.
The Celtics then opened the final period with even more energy, going on a 6-0 run to start the proceedings. They had a 16-6 run since the beginning of the period till the 4:20 mark and extended their lead to 91-72. The lead was
too big for the Sixers to bounce back from and the Celtics held on easily to eventually secure a 101-85 victory.
Bass had 6 rebounds to go with his 27 points and was 9 of 13 from the field and 9 of 10 from the foul line. Kevin Garnett put up another good performance after failing to make an impact in game 4. He had 20 points and 6 rebounds
for the night. Paul Pierce had 16 points and Rajon Rondo added 13 points and 14 assists.
Ray Allen started the game for the first time this post season after Avery Bradley missed the game due to soreness in his shoulders. Allen managed only 5 points and left in the third period when his ankle injury aggravated. He,
however, did return in the final period. Greg Stiemsma came off the bench to score 10 points from a perfect 5 of 5 shooting from the field.
Elton Brand had 19 points and was assisted by Evan Turner with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jrue Holiday had 10 points and 7 assists and Spencer Hawes had 10 points and 5 rebounds. Andre Iguodala failed to make an impact on the night,
scoring 8 points off a 3 of 10 shooting performance. He was also 1 of 4 from the foul line. Lavoy Allen came off the bench to score 12 points from a perfect 6 of 6 shooting from the field. However, he played only 18 minutes of the game despite the fact that
he was in a shooting rhythm.
Game 6 will be played in Philadelphia on Wednesday, where the Sixers will look to stretch the series to the 7th game.
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