Baron Davis wouldn’t have his way this time.

A month after Davis and the Clippers stunned the Celtics with a buzzer-beating jumper in Los Angeles, the Celtics staved off a fourth-quarter push in Boston to hold on for a 95-89 victory. (Recap.)

With the image of Davis’ game-winner still fresh on their minds, the C’s buckled down in all areas of the court. From calling on Rajon Rondo to force Davis to take tough shots to relying on the big men to contain Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, Doc Rivers was pleased with the way his team responded to the aggressive Clippers squad.

“We don’t change our defense very often. We are who we are. We just did our defense better tonight,” he said. “I thought we had a better sense of urgency. I thought Rondo today, his whole job was to stay square, make them make shots over you instead of the reach. And I thought Rondo did a terrific job just making them take shots over him and allowing our bigs to help and get back.”

The Celtics limited Davis to 16 points, which included a 1-for-5 shooting night from 3-point range. As for the big men, Kaman was held to just 10 points. (He scored a game-high 27 against the C’s in December.) These changes were enough to earn the Celtics a win they felt they should have captured in the first place.

“Our bigs did a good job when they did help,” Rivers said. “They got back, and our guards got back out to their guards. So we worked on it, I will say that, but it’s what we should have done the first time.”

The Celtics followed a formula that has been familiar in their victories, yet along the way, there still were lessons to digest.

GARNETT STILL IS LOOKING TO IMPROVE

The last time the Celtics played the Clippers, Kevin Garnett got hurt. On Monday, Garnett helped the Celtics strike back.

Garnett scored 17 points — his most since scoring 21 on Dec. 18 against the 76ers — to help the Celtics improve to 2-0 since his return. His teammates continued to feed off of his energy, and his intensity electrified the court. (There’s nothing like a Garnett chest pump to get the crowd riled up in close situations.)

But Garnett is the first to say he remains a work in progress. For a player who prides himself on defense, a pair of boards did not meet his standards.

“No, two rebounds is not enough for me. I know that I am a better rebounder than that,” he said. “It’s timing. I am not perfect. I will get better at that as the year goes on, but for the most part I am playing my lane and doing what I am supposed to do, which is get Rajon open, get Paul [Pierce] open, get Ray Allen open. Get guys like [Kendrick] Perkins and Rasheed [Wallace] easy shots, and at the same time be a post presence. That is where I am right now. This is my mindset.”

Rivers did not expect Garnett to come back and instantly transform the Celtics into the team they were before he was injured. He sees progress, though, and is willing to be patient.

“It’s coming. You know, we’re not there, but it’s coming. And that’s what you want,” he said. “As a coach, you always want to say it’s coming because that means you’re improving and you’re taking steps forward. … The game the other night, we didn’t play great, we won. Tonight, we didn’t play great the entire game but we played in stretches. So it’s definitely coming. You can feel it.

“I’ll be glad when it gets here.”

‘BIG BABY’ SEEKS A NEW TITLE

It took a broken thumb and a $25,000 fine for Glen Davis to shed the identity he carried into the NBA.

Davis wants a new nickname. He wants to leave Big Baby behind.

“I’m not a Big Baby anymore,” he said. “ I’m not feeling that anymore. You got that? No more Big Baby.”

So what does he have in mind?

“Call me ‘Uno Uno!’ Yeah, I like that,” he exclaimed after a reporter suggested the moniker. “ ‘Uno Uno,’ that’s my new name.”

Big Baby represents a past from which Davis wants to move on. It’s a past that includes fighting in a car during the preseason and yelling obscenities at a fan just last week. He appreciates the opportunities he has been given by the Celtics organization and never wants to revert back to the player who had to be granted second — and third — chances.

“Being Big Baby, I just realized throughout my life I’ve been called Big Baby, and throughout my life I’ve been going through different changes. So really, I’m not Big Baby,” he explained. “You know, it’s like I’m in a cocoon and now I’m coming out as a different player and as a different person also. Basically, just the fact that the new person is growth, so you want to shed that Big Baby off. You want to be perceived as something else, not the past.”

To Rivers, Davis’ personality has nothing to do with the name he goes by. Regardless of whether or not he is Big Baby or Uno Uno, he still is a young player who is learning his way in the league. Davis asked that fans believe he is not a bad person or a troublemaker, and Rivers echoed his request.

“He’s young, that’s the one thing I keep saying about him,” Rivers said. “He has to grow up in front of a lot of people where most people his age don’t. He’s not a bad kid. We just have to give him time. Some you don’t, some you do, and he’s one you do.”

So, while Davis figures out who he is and who he is going to become in the NBA, he is turning to his veteran teammates for advice along the way.

“I look up to a lot of these players on this team, and Ray Allen gave me some great advice,” Davis said. “The 26-year-old man has to think for the 36-year-old man. The 36-year-old man has to think for the 46-year-old man. So, every decision I make is more than just today.”

HOW RONDO WOULD SPEND ALL-STAR WEEKEND

If Rajon Rondo is selected to the All-Star team — which he is favored to do — he would be surrounded by the league’s best players. Yet he would not have to look far to find the one from whom he believes he could learn the most. And it’s not another point guard.

“If I do make it, I’ll probably just hang with KG so he can show me the way, show me the ropes,” Rondo said. “Fortunately, if I make it this year, I won’t have to go by myself. I wouldn’t say it’s difficult going for your first time, but if I go, I’d be fortunate enough to go with KG so he can show me what to do, how things go, what to expect, just how things are going to go that weekend.”

All-Star Weekend is more than just a game on Sunday night. There are community appearances, numerous sessions with the media and sponsorship events. And when the weekend is over, the reputation of being an All-Star stays with a player throughout his career.

Rondo understands that even if he has not set out to earn a bid, the perception of him around the league could change if he does so.

“It’s not really my individual goal to make it this year,” he said. “But, I don’t know, I was determined to be a better player this year, that’s the bottom line. And next year, if I do make it, I know I’d have an even bigger target on my back.”

Rondo’s longtime teammate Kendrick Perkins believes that the point guard has what it takes to thrive with that target. The same qualities that could earn him a selection also are what have helped Rondo reach this level of success.

“He’s always been confident. He’s just Rondo,” Perkins said. “I think Rondo has an arrogance about himself, but in a good way. It’s just confidence to the max.”