In difficulty offensively during the meetings in Cleveland, Al Horford revived perfectly last night. Above all, he raised his voice to ensure the Celtics qualified for the conference final (113-98) while the Cavs still had not given up.
Al Horford had not made a 3-point basket in his last two outings. And for once, he corrected the shooting perfectly with 22 points at 8/15 shooting including 6/13 at 3-points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old pivot even joins LeBron James and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the club of 37-year-old players who finished a game with 20 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists.
“It’s great because we won”, he tempers. “So that’s the only satisfaction I get from it.” You can succeed in a match like that, but if you don't win… But I'm happy because I was able to help the team win this match. We have to give credit to Cleveland, who was weighed down by injuries but just didn't give up. They pushed us to our limits. »
Lead by example
Al Horford woke up the TD Garden at the start of the match and set the tone for his team to overcome the Cavaliers. His 38 springs did not prevent him from throwing himself to prevent a ball from going out of bounds. The type of actions that always please the Boston public and which are necessary for this Boston team, more focused away than at home during the playoffs, and which sometimes struggles to conclude its series.
“The play where he stopped the ball from going out of bounds in the last two minutes of the second quarter, he just gave us an extra possession and he fired up the crowd, he fired up our team. These actions are so important” recalls Jayson Tatum.
By taking over from Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford perfectly played his role as the Celtics' sixth starter. The pivot, always valuable in Boston's defensive system when wanting to pin the Cavs in the paint, was just as important in attack. And obviously, seeing your veteran set an example is enough to delight your coach.
“Everyone is a leader in a different way on the team. Al leads by example, without being very talkative. Tonight you saw his strength”concludes Joe Mazzulla. “His strength is just passion, inspiration, tenacity, competitiveness. Obviously, these matches are difficult. The other team is fighting to stay alive and you are trying to play as hard as possible and without making mistakes. But Al is like that. That’s his personality and I think he’s been amazing. He started things for us and the others followed. »
