Celtics coach Doc Rivers praised Paul Pierce after Sunday night's dramatic Game 4 win for trusting Glen Davis enough to pass on the game's final shot.

Pierce threw the ball to Davis with less than two seconds left, setting up the second-year big man's game-winning jump shot.

"The pass was as good as the shot to me," Rivers said. "We have a saying that you have to trust the pass, and tonight our best player trusted the pass."

The decision to pass was significant for Pierce, who hasn't been himself this postseason and very easily could have forced a potential game-winner with Orlando's Dwight Howard in his face.

"This is great," Pierce said. "It was a roller-coaster last year, and we want to take the same ride. There have been so many great games against Chicago and now Orlando.

"We know we're still the champs, and regardless of what people think, we're going to continue to play that way. There's no words to describe our resiliency. It's there. The intensity and toughness is our team makeup."