ORLANDO, Fla. - The Celtics set up nearly every option possible in a half-court set on their final possession against the Orlando Magic last night. And with four guards - Ray Allen, Eddie House, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo - eager to take the deciding shot, the ball ended up with Glen Davis, who lofted a 21-foot jumper just before the buzzer to give the Celtics a 95-94 win.
The result evened the second-round playoff series at two games apiece going into tomorrow's Game 5 at the Garden.
"It would have been a long, long flight home if that shot didn't go in," House said. "That's the thing about this team, guys do trust one another out on the court to make the right play. And if you do make the right play, a lot of times good things happen.
"Three-game series, first one to win two. We've got the home-court advantage back and now we need to go to Boston and get a win."
Allen and Pierce were the first options as the Celtics regained possession with 11.3 seconds remaining. With Allen unable to get open, Davis went out to set a pick for Pierce, then rolled to the open spot, in front of the Magic bench.
"The play worked to perfection," Pierce said. "Once I saw [Dwight] Howard step up, it was a no-brainer for me to find Big Baby. I just trusted a teammate, he was wide open for a shot and he had just hit the shot before that, and he stepped up big. It was a great game to be part of."
Pierce might have forced the shot himself, but he has observed the maturation of Davis, who earned the "Big Baby" nickname growing up in Baton Rouge, La.
"He's done it before down here, same exact spot," Pierce said. "I just trust my teammates. Baby plays with tremendous confidence and he's shown the ability to be poised down the stretch. I saw [the shot] and I immediately thought it was good. In the playoffs, it's a little bit different than the regular season, but he's shown he can get it done.
"[Davis] was outstanding. We're asking him to do a lot, a guy in his second year, to guard the two best players out there. He's been tremendous for us in the second half of the season. With Kevin [Garnett] being out and Leon [Powe] being out, he's grown into a man in these playoffs."
Davis had converted in crunch time from a similar position in the Celtics' 90-80 win over Orlando Jan. 22.
"It felt like deja vu, but the difference was I hit it to win the game," Davis said. "I always envision making the game-winning shot. You've always got to see it, and if you see it you'll believe it. I shoot millions of shots like that all the time. If you believe you can make it you make it."
Davis was the only Celtic to convert from the field in the final 7:22 of play. Go-to guys Allen and Pierce misfired on four shots, but the defense put the team in a position to salvage the win.
