‘Remarkable’ Al Horford lifts Celtics to exciting win over Lakers

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‘Remarkable’ Al Horford lifts Celtics to exciting win over Lakers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

BOSTON — There was a moment in Saturday night’s Celtics vs. Lakers showdown at TD Garden when Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla was merely a spectator.

Just enjoying the show like everyone else in the building. And it was to appreciate Al Horford.

“I got to watch five possessions of him defending at a high level, and at one point, I wasn’t coaching. I was just watching him,” Mazzulla said in his postgame press conference.

“I was like, ‘Man, this guy’s a future Hall of Famer. I get to watch this for free.’ You have to be able to have that perspective. I think he was motivated by (the Lakers hunting him on defense). He’s just an innate competitor and he inspires our team.”

Horford gave a vintage performance on both ends of the court to help the Celtics earn a 111-101 victory over their archrivals.

Horford was efficient offensively, scoring 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting. But it was his defense that really helped the C’s.

Even in his 18th season and at 38 years old, Horford is still able to play lockdown defense against some of the league’s top players. Lakers superstars LeBron James and Luka Doncic tried to get matched up with Horford on switches throughout the game, and he more than held his own. In fact, he won most of these matchups.

One of the pivotal plays in the game happened in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter. James had Horford 1-on-1 with the shot clock winding down. He drove to the basket, but Horford played it perfectly and forced a miss. Jayson Tatum got the rebound and went coast-to-coast for a dunk, giving the C’s a 58-54 halftime lead after trailing by as many as eight points earlier in the first half.

It was one of many examples of Horford’s stellar defense leading to offense at the other end of the floor.

“Frankly, Al Horford is awesome still,” Lakers head coach JJ Redick said postgame. “He still moves his feet and does a really good job defensively.”

In addition to his scoring, Horford stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds, four assists, three steals…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/remarkable-al-horford-lifts-celtics-011153031.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2025-03-09 01:11:00

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