Al Horford wasn’t firing on all cylinders Wednesday night, but he still found a way to make his usual impact on the game.
Horford, who’s dealing with a virus, was listed as questionable leading up to Game 2 of the Boston Celtics’ first-round NBA playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. The veteran big man was held scoreless through three quarters, but his clutch performance in the fourth frame helped guide Boston to a win at TD Garden.
The Celtics, who were down 10 late in the third quarter, closed the contest on a 37-19 run to take a 2-0 series lead. Horford was a critical cog in the comeback, as he re-entered the game with 2:24 left in the third and played the rest of the way. While he was limited to just four points on the night, he pulled down 10 rebounds and played stellar defense, highlighted by a massive block of Bojan Bogdanovic with just about a minute to go that led to the Celtics’ go-ahead basket.
Horford’s Celtics teammates knew what he was battling through, and they didn’t hesitate to tip their caps after the game.
“Tip my hat to Al, true warrior, true professional,” Jaylen Brown said, per MassLive’s Tom Westerholm. “He gave us everything he had, and everyone knows he’s battling an illness. He came out and was tremendous for us.”
Terry Rozier added: “Once we knew that Al was going to play, we knew he was going to be Al, whether he was scoring the ball or not, he’s going to make his presence felt. It’s always good to have him. He makes the job so much easier when you’re playing with him.”
It’s tough to imagine the C’s coming out on top Wednesday without Horford in the mix, which just goes to show the 12th-year pro doesn’t need to pour in points in order to put his stamp on a game.
