Bass adds to Celtics’ star power

BOSTON - They started as a Big Three and grew to a Big Four when Rajon Rondo earned the right to be mentioned along with the other Boston Celtics All-Stars.

At no point, however, did Brandon Bass merit marquee billing in his first season in Boston.

The fifth, newest and least-heralded member of the Celtics' starting lineup, Bass erupted for a career playoff-high 27 points Monday, scoring 18 in the third quarter as Boston pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"We've got a few good players on the team that they had to focus on," said Bass, who left the game to a standing ovation with 2 minutes left and Boston leading by 18. "That left me open, and I was able to take advantage of my opportunity."

The 27 points matched Bass' regular-season career high, and the 18 points in the third were one off his career playoff high for an entire game. It was also more than the 76ers scored in the quarter as a team.

"It was one of those games we needed something to ignite us together," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought the biggest difference was his energy. He played with a force. I thought he just let himself go."

Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics, who can reach the East finals with a victory in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday. The 76ers would need a win at home to force the series back to Boston for a seventh game.

As he walked to his postgame interview, the 76ers' Elton Brand told the Celtics' ball boys in the hallway outside the locker rooms: "See you on Saturday."

No team has won consecutive games yet this series.

"It would just be nice to win two in a row. That would be terrific," Rivers said. "It's not going to be easy. This series has been hard. Every minute, you think we're leaking oil physically."

Brand scored 19 and Evan Turner had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia, which led by six points early in the third quarter before Boston scored 14 of the next 16 points. Bass had eight of them, including back-to-back dunks followed by a steal that set up Ray Allen's fast-break layup to give the Celtics a 63-57 lead with five minutes left in the quarter.

Boston closed the third with a 10-2 run over the final 3 minutes and outscored the 76ers 28-16 in the period. The Celtics also scored 16 of the first 22 points in the fourth quarter - seven from Rondo - to put away the game.

The Celtics acquired Bass in December in a trade with Orlando for Glen "Big Baby" Davis, and he worked his way into the starting lineup after the All-Star break. Although he solidified the power forward position after Garnett moved to center, he hadn't done anything spectacular - until Monday.

Bass hadn't scored more than 22 points in a game this season.