Baby: I’m getting bad rap

Glen Davis thinks he’s been the victim of some creative video editing.

The Celtics [team stats] forward has been criticized because of footage that shows him pulling on Shaquille O’Neal’s right thumb while playing defense in Thursday night’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

O’Neal left the game midway through the second quarter after being hit on the right thumb when Davis blocked his shot. The controversy developed after TNT replays, as well as ESPN highlights, focused on Davis pulling at the same thumb.

Davis objected to the suggestion that he was trying to injure O’Neal, saying the clip was taken before O’Neal hurt his thumb.

“I was like, ‘That’s false,’ ” Davis said. “They edited that. That was before he hurt his hand.”

The timeline and replays appear to back Davis’ story.

Davis blocked O’Neal’s shot out of bounds with 7:37 remaining in the second quarter. The Cavs took the ball out of bounds and Anderson Varejao scored four seconds later.

On the Celtics ensuing possession the ball went out of bounds and O’Neal left the game and didn’t return. The injury has been termed significant, but no timetable has been established for O’Neal’s return.

“I was pulling on his hand before that,” Davis said. “He hurt it and came right out. Right after I came down on the ball, he came out.”

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Friday that some Cavs were upset with Davis’ actions. Davis said players frequently do little things to irritate opponents, but his intentions weren’t malicious.

“I was just messing with him,” said Davis, who is friendly with O’Neal, a fellow LSU alum. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”