Temple figured prominently
ORLANDO, Fla. - After Glen Davis nailed the game-winning and season-saving jumper at the Amway Center last night, he ran with his chin proudly protruding, accidentally knocked over a dejected teenage Magic fan, ran past his teammates and coaches on the Celtics' bench, and went to hug a tall man with a white hat "that saved" his life.
As the 6-foot-9-inch, 289-pounder hugged the slender and equally tall Collis Temple Jr., he told his father figure proudly, "I got 'em. I got 'em."
Temple simply responded, "Great job, big guy. Great job, big guy."
It was a great job indeed by Davis, whose 21-foot jumper at the buzzer gave the Celtics a stunning 95-94 victory over the Magic in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With the series now tied at two games apiece, Boston regained home-court advantage with Game 5 tomorrow night at TD Banknorth Garden. Davis finished with 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting and 6 rebounds and was the only Celtic to score from the field in the final 7:23, scoring 5 of the final 6 points.
"I was excited. I was super excited," Temple said. "It's almost like a destiny thing the way this young man has been saved. He's lived such a quality life. He's been such a model citizen. He's worked so hard for these kinds of times.
"It happened to him in junior high. It happened to him in high school. It happened to him on the AAU circuit. It happened to him in college. He's earned every big moment because he's such a good guy."
About his game-winner, Davis said, "I'm going to watch it over and over again. I can't believe it."
The Celtics were down 1 following two free throws by Orlando's Rashard Lewis with 11.3 seconds left. A struggling Ray Allen was actually the first option on the flare play for Boston, followed by Paul Pierce and then Davis. With the clock winding down, Pierce had a tough shot against the NBA's top shot-blocker in 6-11 Dwight Howard. Pierce passed on the shot and tossed a perfect pass to Davis on the wing, who immediately lofted the all-net jumper.
It wasn't that long ago that Temple remembers Davis scoring a similar winner in an AAU game down the street from here.
"I was really excited," Temple said. "He's always been a big player, a clutch guy. I started coaching him when he was 9. It was just a real exhilarating feeling to have this kind of experience. We had these kinds of experiences at the Wide World of Sports [in Orlando].
"I saw one of the coaches that I coached against in high school and we beat them in a championship like this nine years ago. He's always been a big ticket for us, man."
Davis's single mother was plagued by personal issues that made it tough to raise her son. A concerned Temple met Davis when he was just 8 and coached him in AAU basketball. Four years later, Temple brought the youngster into his home.
Davis couldn't have found a better father figure and basketball mentor than Temple, the first African-American to play basketball at Louisiana State University. Davis lived with Temple until he graduated from Baton Rouge University High and followed in his footsteps by going to LSU.
"[Temple] means the world to me," Davis said. "He saved my life. He led me in the right direction and made sure I stayed out of trouble. I owe a lot to him."
Temple refused to take credit for turning Davis's life around.
"He saved his own life because he was such a class young man," Temple said. "I was somebody that just helped out a little bit. He was having a tough time at home [when he moved in] . . . We just became good friends.
"This is a great feeling, man. A great feeling. You can't believe what he has gone through."
Temple said he actually tried to convince the brawny Davis to concentrate on football and even had then-LSU coach Nick Saban talk to him. But Davis told Saban he had his mind made up and he would succeed on the hardwood over the gridiron.
"He said, 'Coach, I'm going to be an NBA basketball player,' " Temple said. "I said, 'Well, if that's what you're going to do.' And we were sitting in Nick Saban's office. But Nick Saban said to me, Collis, he loves this basketball. That's where his heart is and he's passionate about it."
You could see Davis's heart and passion on his face after he hit the winning jumper. Whether it's with tears after getting an earful from teammate Kevin Garnett or yelling in joy at the stunned Magic fans, the second-year Celtic wears his emotions on his sleeve. And nearly 20 minutes after Davis's winner, a proud Temple didn't mind showing his emotions, too, as he still had tears in his eyes.
"This is great moment for him," Temple said about Davis. "This is a coming-out party at a very high level. For Glen, it's a confidence-booster."
Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com 
