By now everybody has heard about Brandon Bass' playoff career high 27 points in the Celtics Game 5 win over the Sixers on Monday night. Boston took control with suffocating defense over a 14 minute stretch in the 3rd and 4th quarters, in which they held Philly to just 4 made baskets (including a 5 minute span without a single point), and outscored them 32-11. Bass was instrumental during the run, outscoring the Sixers all by himself in the 3rd quarter, 18-16.
But Bass wasn't the only Celtic to put up some surprising numbers. In the previous game Greg Stiemsma had registered his first DNP in almost two months. For the series he'd played just 24 minutes and scored only 2 points, losing most of his time to Ryan Hollins. I decided to wear my Stiemsma shirt to the Garden on Monday night; I'm not sure why, I guess I just had a feeling he was due to make something happen. After entering the game for Garnett halfway through the first quarter, he promptly made two layups, a dunk, and a jumpshot in less than four minutes. And with 1:42 to go in the period, Stiemsma was suddenly the game's leading scorer with 8 points. He would finish 5-5 from the field, with 10 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 14 minutes, easily the biggest contributor off the bench on a night when the C's were playing shorthanded without Avery Bradley.
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