NBA Playoffs 2012: Brandon Bass's Huge Night Propels Boston to Key Game 5 Win

TNT analyst Chris Webber twice alluded to an in-game huddle where Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers delivered a blood-stirring speech to his players while they were trailing the Philadelphia 76ers, pushing them to press on and take the lead.

"It sounds corny, but that Celtics spirit wasn't there," Rivers said in the post-game press conference, aired on NBATV. "I thought in the third quarter, we got to playing."

The words had quite an effect on Celtics reserve forward Brandon Bass, who led all scorers with 27 points (18 of which came in the decisive third quarter) in a crucial 101-85 Boston win over the 76ers at the TD Garden.

The win gave the Celtics a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"When you're on a team with a guy like [Rajon] Rondo, the ball just happens to find you," Bass told TNT courtside reporter David Aldridge immediately following the game.

Rondo had one eye-popping, end-of-year-highlight-worthy behind-the-back assist to Bass that led to a thunderous dunk from the former LSU big man, but most of Bass's points came off sweet jumpers outside the key.

Aldridge had reported during the game that Bass had made it a habit as a young player with the New Orleans Hornets of arriving to the gym hours before game time to get in extra shooting practice. On Monday night, that work ethic paid off in full.

It was that ability to mix it up on the offensive end that thoroughly flummoxed Spencer Hawes, the Sixers big man tasked with guarding Bass during the game.

Hawes couldn't help but bite on Bass's pump fakes outside the paint, not sure what approach his man would take to scoring. It was of little surprise that Hawes picked up his fourth foul just minutes into the game-changing third quarter.

"I thought he kept the game simple," Rivers said. "He let the game come to him and he trusted his teammates. Like I always say, he made shots, but I thought he played with the right spirit.

The Sixers had gone into the half with a 50-47 lead, having kept the Celtics at bay during a tight first half where forward Elton Brand had surprised many with 12 points.

But the Celtics launched upon a 10-0 run to take the lead at 63-57 with 4:56 to go in the third before an 8-0 run to close out the quarter up 75-66.

That blitz seemed to take the wind out the Sixers' sails, and they would come no closer than that margin for the rest of the game.

"I thought we had a good grip on the game," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "I really did. But then [Boston] went on that run and it got out of hand quickly.

"For the most part, they were the more forceful team to finish the game."

"I don't know what the turning point was," Rivers said. "It was one of those games where we needed something to ignite us. I don't know what did it, but once we got it, we played very well."

Boston would push its lead to as much as 20 before settling on that final margin of 16. They shot 52 percent from the field (36 of 69), hit their free throws (26 of 33, or 79 percent), and took care of the ball—they committed just 10 turnovers to the Sixers' 15.

Bass was helped out by Kevin Garnett, who chipped in 20 points, and Rondo, who had 13 points along with a game-high 14 assists, many of which were of the SportsCenter top 10 quality.

Elton Brand led the Sixers with 19 points.

Game 6 is Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

"It would be nice to win two games in a row," Rivers said, in a perfect understatement.