BOSTONThe Boston Celtics got off to a fast start against Memphis, with an unlikely bench player leading the charge.
It was Chris Wilcox, who saw action sooner than usual because Brandon Bass was out due to swelling in his left knee.
Wilcox made all five of his shot attempts and finished with 12 points in just under 12 minutes of playing time. Of those 12 points scored, 10 came in the first quarter, which was a major factor in the C's being up by eight points.
It was the second straight game in which Wilcox was among the key players leading the Celtics to victory.
"I wanted to pick up where I left off," Wilcox said. "Just go out there and have fun, you know what I mean?"
Yes, we know what you mean.
Putting up big numbers offensively is not what Wilcox is about now. He's an eight-year veteran who has never been to the postseason.
"All I'm about now is helping this team win as much as possible," Wilcox told CSNNE.com prior to Sunday's victory. "For me, I've got nothing really left to prove in this league. I know I can play; I've proven I can play. For me right now, it's about getting 'W's.'"
Lately, Wilcox had played an important role in that happening for the Celtics (13-10) with four straight wins, and victories in eight of their last nine games.
In the C's 91-89 win over New York on Friday, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers singled out Wilcox as a "hero" in Boston hanging on for the victory. Following Sunday's win, Rivers once again had plenty of praise for the 6-foot-10 forward.
"Wilcox has been, in the last three games he's been absolutely off-the-charts," Rivers said. "Terrific. With his energy. A lot of guys did a lot of good things (against) New York (on Friday), but I thought Wilcox was the reason we won that game, with his play. He's just doing all the right things."