You know things are not looking too good for your team when Brandon Bass lights you up in the second half and scores 27 points in the game. Bass went on a scoring sprees in the third quarter, which helped the Boston Celtics pull away with a 101-85 victory, claiming a 3-2 lead in the series against the Sixers.
The most points Bass had scored this season was 21 against the Charlotte Bobcats, a team inferior to the Sixers in every aspect of the game. They simply overplayed Rajon Rondo, who had 14 assists and 13 points Monday night, and were too concerned defending Paul Pierce.
Bass was open and the Sixers paid as he knocked down jumpers and got easy baskets down low. Kevin Garnett dropped 20 points and got out to a fast start scoring 14 points in the first half.
There is no way the 76ers can compete against a Boston team when they are sharing the ball well and shooting over 50% from the floor. Rajon Rondo has a double- double in every game except for Game 2. Similar to how the Lakers could not go toe-to-toe with the Thunder, the Sixers have to make sure they jump out to a big lead early.
In the third quarter they were exchanging baskets and the Sixers suddenly got cold and Bass was unstoppable. From the 6:38 minute mark in the third quarter, Bass scored more points (14) than the Sixers did to finish off the quarter.
Many would say they would rather have Bass beat you than Pierce, but now the Sixers have another player to worry about as they find themselves against the wall in Game 6, which will be played at home.
Andre Iguodala must improve his poor shooting, eight point performance of Game 5. The team out rebounded the Celtics, but was outscored from the free throw line by 16 points, which was the difference in this ball game.
The Celtics made 17 more trips to the line than the Sixers, which means the Sixers are not penetrating and drawing fouls at a proper rate. With the youth and speed on their team and the absence of the Celtics' speedy defender, Avery Bradley, there was no reason for the Sixers to struggle getting to the line.
Game 6 is Wednesday and the Celtics will look to close out the series.
