The Boston Celtics needed a spark from someone, anyone in Game 4. In Game 2, it came from guard Ray Allen and his finals-record eight, and point guard Rajon Rondo, who managed his fifth career postseason triple-double. In Game 3, forward Kevin Garnett finally had the strong performance fans, reminiscent of the KG of old, but the Celtics could not stop Los Angeles Lakers’ point guard Derek Fisher, who went off in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points, and leading the Lakers to a Game 3 win. The Celtics could ill-afford to lose game 4, and go down in the series 1-3. The odds would not be in their favor. A 1-3 series deficit has never been overcome in NBA history. The Celtics’ needed the “Big 3″ of Garnett, Allen, and forward Paul Pierce to be more consistent. And they needed their championship-caliber defense that led them to the NBA Finals to step up again.

Pierce may have been the Celtics’ leading scorer in Game 4 on Thursday night with 19 points, but the story of the night was the Celtics’ bench. Despite 33 points and 6 rebounds for Lakers’ guard Kobe Bryant, Celtics’ forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis and guard Nate Robinson provided the offensive spark the team needed, leading the Celtics to a 96-89 win at the TD Garden. The series is now tied up at two wins apiece.

Davis, who saw significant playing time as the starting power forward late last season and into the playoffs while Garnett was sidelined with a right knee sprain, scored 18 points. Nine of his 18 points came in the critical fourth quarter. Robinson, the hero for the Celtics in Game 6 against the Orlando Magic, scored 12 points in 17 minutes. The Celtics’ bench outscored the Lakers’ 36-18. Celtics’ head coach Doc Rivers claimed that Rondo, who was on the bench begged him not to take Robinson out, giving Rivers a good opportunity to give Rondo some much-needed rest.

While Bryant had a strong offensive night, hitting six 3-point field goals, he also had seven of the Lakers’ 14 turnovers on the night. The Lakers had very limited production from two of their starters: center Andrew Bynum and Fisher. Bynum, who suffered a torn meniscus in the Lakers’ first-round match-up with the Oklahoma City Thunder, was limited to 12 points in the first half, but could not play in the second half. Fisher could not sink the Celtics again like in Game 3, because he was benched due to foul trouble, scoring 6 points in only 31 minutes. Most of the production off the Lakers’ bench came from forward Lamar Odom, who scored 39 points. He played 39 points, filling in for Bynum in the second half.

If there were any negatives for the Celtics to take away from the Game 4 win, it would be their poor shooting in the first quarter. They missed seven shots from inside 5 feet. They were just 4-of-8 on free throw attempts in the first half, but made all 11 in the 4th quarter. While much of the attention in regards to avoiding technical fouls has been focused on Celtics’ center Kendrick Perkins, who will be suspended if he draws one more, center Rasheed Wallace was called for a technical foul arguing a foul call, and now finds himself in the same situation as Perkins. Allen started off ice cold, and looked like he was heading for another night similar to Game 3 where he missed all thirteen field goal attempts, but finished the night with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting.

The Celtics also had valuable production from guard Tony Allen off the bench. In 18 minutes, Allen scored 3 points, grabbed 3 rebounds, dished out 1 assist, and blocked 1 shot. In the fourth quarter, Tony Allen, Ray Allen, Wallace, and Davis, led the Celtics on a 25-15 run against the Lakers, before the starters returned to close the game out. With less than 30 seconds remaining, Rondo stole a pass from Bryant and ran it in for a layup. With just over 17 seconds remaining, the Lakers fouled Garnett who got the ball on an inbounds pass. Garnett sealed the Celtics’ win by nailing both free throws.

By winning, the Celtics have ensured that the series will return to the Staples Center in Los Angeles for at least a Game 6. Game 5 will be Sunday, June 13, at the TD Garden in Boston, at 8 EST on ABC.