By JessicaCamerato
CSNNE.com
BOSTON - Glen Davis had enough.
He hung his head and stared at the ground as he searched for answers following Thursdays loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
That night he had followed up a 1-for-5 shooting performance against the Charlotte Bobcats by going 3-for-10 from the field. The Boston Celtics had lost both contests, and Davis had lost his feel for the game.
I dont know. I dont know, he told CSNNE.com as he shook his head, searching for an explanation. I just need to get back in my rhythm. I dont have a good rhythm.
Davis admitted he had been rushing his shots and was not taking enough time on the court. The numbers were reflective of his struggle - he had scored just one field goal in four of his previous ten games, compared to his season average of nearly 12 points.
After garnering consideration for Sixth Man of the Year, Davis was slipping.
Boston Celtics
Things have just started going downward, he said. Ill find it, though. Ill find my rhythm.
Days later, Davis did just that.
On Sunday he exploded off the bench with 16 points against the Miami Heat. He shot 6-for-11 from the field and clinched an 85-82 win by hitting two free throws with 6.3 seconds left.
His strong showing was the result of a commitment he made to himself following the Lakers game.
That game affected me because I didnt really feel like a force, he told CSNNE.com following the Celtics win. The last couple of games I havent really been a force and playing the way I was playing at the beginning of the year. I need games like this. I need to be in the mix when its big teams like this.
Celtics head coach Doc Rivers credited their bench (which was primarily Davis and Von Wafer, minus five minutes from Nate Robinson and nine seconds from Avery Bradley) for winning the game in the first first half. He deemed Davis and Wafer terrific, a far cry from the self-criticism Davis had been inflicting on himself.
Mentally, I just went out there and said, Im going to be aggressive, he said. The mental mindset has to be different - you have to understand whats up. Its weird, you cant really explain it. Youve kind of got to manifest it, like, Im going to go out there, get the rebound, Im going to shoot. And do it. No matter what happens, you just do it. And thats what I did. When I got the ball the first time, I just put it up.
This wasnt Davis best offensive performance. He missed five field goals, including a fastbreak dunk attempt that came up short. But he kept at it and even used the failed fastbreak as motivation.
"I can't wait to see it on ESPN Not Top 10," he joked. "That was a classic one. I was laughing. I'm glad it happened because it kind of got me going in the game."
When the buzzer sounded, Davis was the Celtics second-leading scorer. It was his highest point total since January 5 against the San Antonio Spurs, when he dropped 23 as a starter.
Only days after hanging his head in disappointment, Davis stood proudly as a key contributor in this highly touted matchup.
The Lakers game was the last straw for me, he said. This whole second half is going to be a different half.
On Sunday he got an early start to it.
Jessica Camerato is on Twitter athttp:twitter.comjcameratoNBA