The Celtics’ P.J. Brown blocks a layup attempt by LeBron James of the Cavaliers in the second half of yesterday’s game.

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The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

BOSTON — P.J. Brown said he never thought he would be on the floor with less than two minutes left in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference semifinals when he signed with the Celtics on Feb. 27.

Not with the Celtics starting 11-time All-Star Kevin Garnett and up-and-coming center Kendrick Perkins in the frontcourt and Brown sitting out almost a year when he decided to retire after the 2006-07 season.

But that’s exactly where Brown found himself yesterday with the Celtics leading, 89-88, and their season on the line.

With 1:21 remaining in the game, Boston guard Eddie House squeezed a bounce pass between two defenders to Brown. Brown received the pass, saw he was open and put up a 20-foot jumper all in one motion.

The crowd let out a collective gasp, but his shot hit nothing but net, giving Boston a 91-88 lead.

“When that shot came, Eddie gave me a nice pass and I stepped into it, and that’s a shot that I shoot a couple hundred times a day, so it felt good,” Brown said.

The basket forced Cleveland to call a timeout. As the Celtics ran to the bench, the crowd began changing, “P.J., P.J., P.J.”

“When I signed, I thought I was brought here to help the team [defensively and rebounding]…,” Brown said.

“That is what my career has been built on. That is my bread and butter. I try to do a good job of that when coach puts me out there. As far as the shot goes, I wasn’t brought here for that. I was definitely not brought here to shoot last-second shots; it was a natural thing. I felt good, the ball came to me, Eddie threw me a nice pass, I felt the rhythm and took the shot.”

Brown’s shot snapped a 6-2 Cleveland run and gave Boston the momentum again. Boston held on and won, 97-92.

“This is huge,” Brown said. “I’ve had a lot of disappointments in Game Seven. I haven’t been very successful. To go to the Eastern Conference finals on your own court means a lot. The shot, I would say, is probably the biggest shot of my career.”

Brown finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds. He also stepped in and got in the way of a LeBron James drive with 22 seconds left, causing the Cavaliers star to miss a crucial layup with the Celtics leading, 91-88.

Brown played 20 minutes yesterday.

He said he had no idea that he was going to play as much as he did.

“P.J. has been what we thought he would be — not only extra energy, but veteran leadership,” Boston forward Kevin Garnett said.

roblee@projo.com