Email to a Friend

Printer Friendly Version

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Ricky Davis and his Boston teammates simply refused to lose.

Down by 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Celtics rallied for a 134-127 double-overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.

�It showed the toughness of the guys. To come back and win is mentally tough,� Davis said after scoring seven of his 34 points in the second overtime.

�(The Clippers) were shooting the ball well, but we just got stops at the right times. That�s what we�ve got to do,� Davis added.

Davis had 19 points in the fourth quarter to rally the Celtics from a 12-point deficit, then had two points in a low-scoring first overtime when each team had just seven points.

Gary Payton scored six of his 15 points in the second extra period to help Boston pull it out.

Paul Pierce had 34 points for the Celtics before fouling out with 3:35 left in regulation and Boston down 103-98.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers liked his team�s determination.

�Paul Pierce fouled out, there were just a lot of reasons why we should have gone home, and our guys just fought,� Rivers said.

Corey Maggette led the Clippers with a career-high 38 points, four more than his previous best.

�This is all so far a learning process,� Maggette said of the Clippers. �We�re all just learning.�

Elton Brand, back from a one-game suspension, added 24 points and had 18 rebounds for Los Angeles. Bobby Simmons had 22 points.

Payton went 3-of-4 and the Celtics were 7-of-9 from the floor in the second overtime. Meanwhile, Maggette missed his three shots and the Clippers were just 3-of-8.

In the first overtime, Maggette hit a 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining to even it at 116, then the teams traded turnovers and the game went to the second extra period.

Davis� scoring spurt in the fourth quarter brought the Celtics back from a 102-90 deficit with 8 minutes remaining. He evened it at 109 with a pair of free throws with 8.7 seconds left.

Los Angeles led 85-77 heading into the fourth quarter.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy tried to put some positive spin on the defeat.

�We have to use this loss to gain experience and learn from our mistakes,� Dunleavy said. �There is no sense in pointing the finger at anyone. We win as a team, we lose as a team.

�We did a lot of good things, but we just had some unlucky things happen. Tonight could be one of the most important games of the year, depending on how we respond.�

Davis finished 11-of-18 from the floor and made all 11 of his free throws.

�Hopefully, this will get us going,� he said.

The Clippers� top rebounder and second-leading scorer, Brand was suspended for shoving Charlotte�s Emeka Okafor in the fourth quarter of a 99-93 double overtime victory on Dec. 6. 

Notes:@ The Clippers, who won both games against Boston last season, haven�t beaten Boston three times in a row since Jan. 14, 1994, to Feb. 17, 1995. ... Brand averaged 31.5 points and 11 rebounds against Boston last season, the first time the Clippers had swept a season series against the Celtics since 1996-97.