For the better part of the past two months, Avery Bradley has been a forgotten man. Sidelined by an Achilles strain, he watched the Boston Celtics post a 16-7 record in the 23 games he missed from Dec. 30 to Feb. 26. Boston’s success in his absence left some wondering whether Bradley was somewhat expendable for a team that surged to No. 2 in the East in his absence.

But with one mesmerizing defensive effort against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving in the closing seconds of Boston’s heart-stopping win over the defending champs at TD Garden on Wednesday night, Bradley offered a reminder of just how valuable he can be to this team.

Despite Bradley having logged a mere 34 minutes of floor time since Jan. 16, coach Brad Stevens summoned the guard with Boston trailing with 3:28 to play. Bradley's task: Find a way to slow Irving and give the Celtics a chance to steal the game.

With Boston clinging to a one-point lead with 1:29 to go, the Cavs had the ball, and Bradley played tough defense on Irving, smothering his attempts to drive before Irving forced up a shot from the free throw line but drew a whistle. Irving hit both free throws.

Bradley answered with a clutch 3-pointer at the other end, but Irving kept coming right back at the Celtics, and it became clear that the only way for Boston to win Wednesday’s game was with a crunch-time stop.

Then it happened. Isolated on Irving in front of the Boston bench with 19 seconds to play and Boston up 101-99, Bradley put on a master class in defense. It was an Irish step dance: Bradley’s feet moved at dizzying speeds to stick with Irving but his torso remained perfectly still to impede Irving’s ability to go at the basket. Or it felt like a rodeo ride, with Bradley desperately trying to hang on for eight seconds. A little shoulder bump helped Irving create space to go up with a turnaround baseline jumper, but even then Bradley recovered enough to contest the shot.

Irving’s attempt clanged off the rim, his first miss of the night when guarded by a member of Boston’s starting backcourt. And when Deron Williams missed a second-chance look at a 3-pointer, Boston could finally exhale.

“Good offense usually beats good defense, but Avery certainly makes it as tough as humanly possible when he’s guarding somebody,” Stevens said.

Stevens termed it a “necessity” to have Bradley back on the floor for moments like these. The Celtics, not nearly as crisp as the team that mingled in the top five in defensive rating for most of last season, have often had to hope that Isaiah Thomas’ offense can bail them out in close games.

Having Bradley back and being able to roll out crunch-time lineups that feature him alongside Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder and Al Horford give Boston its best chance to more consistently generate late-game stops.

Consider this: The Celtics have played by far the most clutch games -- those within five points in the final five minutes -- with 41 this season. Boston is 28-13 in those games, despite giving up 110.5 points per 100 possessions in those crunch-time minutes, a mark that ranks 21st in the league.

Bradley is clearly still shaking off rust after his extended absence, but he's going to help that number. He played just 15 first-half minutes in his return Monday night against Atlanta, but Stevens made sure to break up Bradley's floor time enough Wednesday so that he could come back in crunch time.

Bradley made the case that he has the freshest legs on Boston's roster after his extended absence, but being able to come off the bench cold -- Bradley hadn’t played since 6:26 of the third quarter on Wednesday – to guard one of the league’s elite point guards is simply remarkable.

“Mentally, I was prepared,” said Bradley. “I was trying to stay warm on the sideline. I just knew that, once I got the opportunity to go back out there, I was going to play as hard as I can and make sure I was focused.”

Bradley and Irving have an obvious mutual admiration for each other, and it seems to bring out the best in each player when they go head-to-head. Bradley noted that matchups like this are "what I play this game for, to go up against the best players."

After Wednesday's game, Bradley wondered whether, because of his absence, he’ll be overlooked when voters cast their ballots for Defensive Player of the Year and the NBA’s All-Defense teams. Last season, he was the top vote-getter at the guard position in DPOY balloting, finishing third behind only Golden State’s Draymond Green and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard. Bradley also earned his first All-Defense first-team honor.

Moments like the end of Wednesday’s game remind NBA observers what Bradley is capable of. His return gave Boston back its second-leading scorer and one of its best rebounders this season. Bradley is putting up the best numbers of his career in most major statistical categories, yet it’s undeniable where his biggest value lies.

The Celtics need Bradley to set a tone on defense. Their defensive rating with Bradley on the floor this season is an impossibly high 108.6, and it drops by 4.6 points when he’s on the bench. The big offensive numbers that Boston’s starters have put up have sometimes caused the Celtics to relent a bit on the defensive end.

It was fair to wonder whether Boston could produce a stop at the end of Wednesday's game. For the second time in the past 13 months, Bradley came up with a huge play late to defeat the Cavaliers. (He also hit a buzzer-beater in Cleveland in February last season.)

If the Celtics are to maintain their grasp on the No. 2 seed in the East this year, they'll need a healthy Bradley to restore the team's defensive identity.