PJ Brown, Baby!

PJ Brown, Baby!

5/19/2008

In February, when the Celtics coaxed P.J. Brown out of domestic life in Louisiana, where he was being a dutiful dad, shuttling his kids to school and sporting events and helping them with homework, they knew he'd provide rebounding, defense, leadership, and veteran savvy. But hitting crucial crunch-time shots in the playoffs? That's wasn't part of the deal - until yesterday.



With the Cavaliers having closed within a point of the Celtics late in the fourth quarter and the TD Banknorth Garden crowd holding its breath, Brown stepped up and drilled a 20-foot jumper with 1:21 left that gave Boston some breathing room (91-88) en route to a 97-92 victory in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series

While years from now the game will be remembered for the Paul Pierce-LeBron James shootout, which Brown described as a wild, wild West duel, the Celtics wouldn't be playing in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2002 - they open up at home against the Pistons tomorrow - if it weren't for Brown. The 15-year veteran forward came off the bench and provided an unexpected boost in 20 minutes, shooting 4 for 4 and finishing with 10 points (all in the second half), 6 rebounds, and five difference-making plays in the fourth quarter

"He's been huge for us all year," said Kevin Garnett. "He's what we need in certain situations. He's been in every facet of it and I feel like his shot was probably one of, if not the biggest, shot of the game."

The 38-year-old Brown, who came into yesterday's game averaging 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds per game in the playoffs, said he wouldn't have returned if he didn't think he could contribute to the Celtics, but bail-out jumpers aren't what he had in mind

"When I signed I thought I could help the team. I thought I could contribute, defensively, offensively. More defense and rebounding. That's what my career has been built on," said Brown, who averaged 2.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in 18 games in the regular season after signing Feb. 27

"That's my bread and butter, and I try to do a good job of that when the coach puts me out there," said Brown. "As far as the shot, I definitely was not brought here to shoot last-second shots. That was just a nature thing. I felt good, man, the ball came to me. Eddie [House] threw me a nice little pass. I felt in rhythm and I just took the shot."

The shot was the most notable of Brown's fourth-quarter plays, but his best came with less than 30 seconds to play, when James (45 points) drove to the basket looking to trim the lead to a point again and Brown, who had five fouls, stepped up and forced James into an airball.

"I'm just trying to slide my feet, man. Move them slow feet because LeBron was coming hard," said Brown. "He's a powerful player and he explodes to the goal when he drives, and I was just making sure that I didn't get a ticky-tack foul. I didn't want to send him to the line, and it turned out to be a good play."

Just one of many Brown made down the stretch. Twice in the final four minutes, when Cleveland pulled within 3, Brown came up with huge offensive rebounds. With the score 85-82, Brown got his hand on a Boston miss and tapped it back out. The Celtics retained possession and Garnett hit a turnaround jumper with 3:43 left.

Fifty-eight seconds later with Cleveland trailing, 87-84, Brown swooped in and scooped up a deflected Rajon Rondo shot for a key putback

"Paul had a big game, obviously, but the guy that came off the bench and really contributed for them was P.J. Brown," said Cleveland coach Mike Brown. "P.J. got a big offensive rebound and putback late and his jump shot late in the game was a big shot."

As good a game as Pierce had yesterday with 41 points, his biggest contribution may have been courting Brown, who makes his home in Slidell, La., during All-Star Weekend, which was held in New Orleans. Pierce and guard Ray Allen practically begged Brown to don the Celtic green.

"Talking to Paul and Ray. Them saying, 'We think you can help us. We think you can make our bench stronger.' That means a lot coming from two great players like that on a great team," said Brown. "That made a difference for me. [Assistant coach] Clifford Ray also. Me and Cliff go way back. He had been in my ear the whole year about coming here. It all felt right. It seemed like this was the right place for me and this is where I decided to come."

The Celtics wouldn't have gotten past the Cavaliers if he hadn't.