Celtics win with fireworks in 4th

With 18 points and eight boards up to that point, Butler was a problem. For the Celtics, the answer was Tony Allen.

Coach Doc Rivers made the call to sic

Allen on Butler in the fourth quarter. Butler never made another basket. He went 0 for 4, and the Wizards took just 18 shots in the fourth quarter. The Celtics, playing their fourth game in five days (draining losses to Orlando, Atlanta, and the Lakers), forced 16 misses.

The Celtics’ 99-88, come-from-behind victory over the Wizards was fueled by a late-game defensive stand that had become rare in recent weeks, and Allen was the poster boy.

“I took it as a challenge,’’ said Allen, who finished with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench, scoring 6 in the final quarter. “It’s like a test. Each game is like a test, like Doc Rivers is putting me in a quiz or something, and I try to go out and pass that test. That’s how I look at it. Caron Butler got going, my job was to go out there and not to stop him, but to contain him.’’

He was a 6-foot-4-inch blanket, a huge piece of the defensive fabric that had been shredded lately. Rivers pushed all his chips in on the defensive side.

“I told our guys with five minutes left, I said, ‘OK, if we don’t score again, we’ve got to win the game. Let’s just lean on our defense,’ ’’ he said.

“It was big today,’’ Allen said. “I heard a lot of talking, guys covering for each other if somebody got beat off the dribble, I think that’s what we’re going to have to do.’’

It was only the fifth time this season the Celtics were able to win despite being down going into the fourth quarter, having lost six of their last eight.

“[Last night’s] game was much needed, do-or-die if you want,’’ said Kevin Garnett after putting up a game-high 19 points, drilling a 16-footer with 1:23 left that essentially tucked in the Wizards.

Getting critical stops had been an issue for the Celtics during their three-game skid. While some panicked, Rivers looked at it differently.