We entered the last five minutes of Celtics – Cavaliers awaited by the entire NBA. Cleveland tries to reverse the situation for good, although it got off to a bad start in the first period, and can come back to three points with less than five minutes to play. Darius Garland thinks he has dropped Al Horford quickly but is picked up against the board by the Dominican. About thirty seconds later, Georges Niang received the same welcome near the circle, once again from Al Horford, while Derrick White had armed from afar in the meantime. The very example of an evening as beautiful as it was decisive in the success of the Celtics.
The veteran pivot was decisive in his team's victory against the Cavaliers, who fell for the first time this season. Barely back from injury, Al Horford compiled 20 points and 3 blocks, his season records, along with 7 rebounds. “ I like to perform well in these kinds of matches“, he explained in the locker room after the match. “ Even though it's only November, it was the NBA Cup and we blew the first game against Atlanta. It's good to play high-stakes matches this early in the season. This victory was for us, we had nothing to prove to the league or anyone. We continue to move forward to progress. »
In loving memory of Kenny Atkinson
Al Horford particularly hurt Cleveland with his ability to keep the game away, against Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, who were much more comfortable defending their racket. His 4/5 3-pointers brought back funny memories for Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers coach and former assistant in Atlanta, between 2012 and 2016.
“ No, I'm not surprised to see him still playing at this level“, reacted the Cleveland technician. “ He owes it to his exceptional approach to every detail, I saw him every day working on his physical condition, his work ethic, his thirst for progress… All of this contributes to his longevity. And his shooting became incredible. Before, he needed a little time to trigger it, not anymore. It goes away so quickly. His story is truly incredible, he is the professional personified, I am very happy with the success he is having. »
Only one player might have had any complaints about Al Horford's performance, for one of the funniest moments of the evening at TD Garden. At a press conferenceDerrick White pretended to play a fit of jealousy on Jayson Tatum, who had referred to Al Horford as his “ favorite teammate“. “ You are my second favorite teammate » laughed the winger, before also praising the performance of his pivot. “ Al brings a calm face into the locker room. And he does so many different things for us. Sometimes they show up on the stat sheet, sometimes not. But his presence on the pitch helps our spacing, our defense, he's such a good passer who plays as a team… We're just a better team when Al is there. »
“ He's a natural competitor, and I think people don't realize that sometimes because of his calm personality. » For his part, estimated Joe Mazzulla, regarding his second best scorer of the evening. “ He has this ability to inspire the people around us, he had already done it against the Cavaliers before Game 5 I think during the last playoffs. He's a fantastic leader. You can always count on him to create something when it's the right time. »
Like during this minute with two blocks, when the dynamic could have shifted in favor of the Cavaliers without the defensive presence of the totem Al Horford.
