BOSTON — The Celtics have tied up the NBA Finals, and they owe it more to “Big Baby” than the “Big Three.”
Backup forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics bench pulled away from the Lakers to win 96-89 on Thursday night and even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Game 5 is Sunday night in Boston. The Celtics’ win guaranteed them a trip back to Los Angeles and averted a 3-1 deficit that has never been overcome in NBA Finals history.
“Just will, that’s all it is,” Davis said. “This is what legends are made of, this is where you grasp the moment. . . . Just play in the moment.”
Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and Pau Gasol had 21 for the Lakers.
Paul Pierce scored 19, Kevin Garnett had 13 and Ray Allen bounced back from a seven-quarter shooting slump to score 12 points for Boston. But the “Big Three” who led the Celtics to their 17th NBA title in 2008 — beating the Lakers in the Finals — were on the bench for much of the fourth-quarter run that gave Boston the lead for good.
“They were fine. They were cheering,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the starters. “I don’t think guys really care and that’s why we’re here, it really is. (Rajon) Rondo and the rest of them, they were begging me to keep guys in. ‘Don’t take them out! Don’t take them out!’ It was great. That’s the loudest I’ve seen our bench, and it was the starters cheering from the bench. I thought it was terrific.”
Bryant hit three straight 3-pointers to give the Lakers a 62-58 lead with 1:25 left in the third. Davis’ putback left the Celtics trailing by two points heading into the final quarter, and he scored on a reverse layup in the opening minute of the fourth to tie it.
Gasol made a basket to give Los Angeles the lead at 64-62 — its last of the game — before Allen scored, Davis followed, Allen made another basket and Davis followed with a three-point play that made it 71-64 with 8:22 left.
In all, the Celtics scored 13 of 15 points during a five-minute span when Allen was the only starter on the court, mostly with Davis, Rasheed Wallace, Nate Robinson and Tony Allen.
RECAP
Hero: Boston’s bench gets most of the credit, led by Glen Davis, who scored half of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Nate Robinson added 12 points.
Zero: Lakers center Andrew Bynum, battling a painful right knee, was limited to about 13 minutes, and the Celtics took advantage of his big body missing in the middle.
Chalk talk: Boston’s reserves stole the show. It was the “loudest I’ve seen our bench, the starters cheering from the bench. It was terrific,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
