"With 7½ minutes left to play Monday night at Boston, Scott Brooks subbed in Thabo Sefolosha for the same reason he always does whenever the shooting guard is reinserted in the final period.

"I knew we had to have that defender on the floor," Brooks said.

The Thunder coach looked to his Swiss stopper to help slow two future Hall of Famers in Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. But what Brooks didn't anticipate is the boost Sefolosha would supply at the opposite end of the floor.

Sefolosha scored 12 of his season-high 19 points in the fourth quarter, surprising the sold out TD Garden crowd with his offensive eruption and late-game sharpshooting. With the Celtics keying on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Sefolosha stepped up and hit two 3-pointers in the final 2:01 to help secure the Thunder's 97-88 win."