Even at 35 years old, Al Horford showed there’s still some spring left in his step during the Game 4 victory for the Boston Celtics over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
Horford threw down an emphatic slam dunk while getting fouled by Giannis Antetokounmpo early in the fourth quarter, which completely energized the Celtics en route to a monster fourth-quarter performance.
For his teammates, it was great seeing Horford — by far the oldest player on the Celtics, and in his 15th year in the NBA — fend off not only Antetokounmpo, but Father Time as well on his way to a momentum-swinging slam.
“I wasn’t surprised at all, man,” Marcus Smart said following Boston’s 116-108 win. “It was a big-time play, big-time moment and a physical game. We’ve been on the other end of those a couple of times, so it felt good to have that one. Al still has it. At this age, he’s still able to get up like he does. We weren’t surprised, but we were ecstatic for it and we needed it. We felt it. Everybody did. The energy changed once that happened from Al and it got him going and everybody else going.”
Like Smart, Jayson Tatum marveled at the dunk by Horford and how it helped set the tone for the rest of the team to outscore the Bucks, 43-28, in the final frame.
“That was a helluva play,” Tatum said after the game. “Especially anytime Al turn back the clock and look like his old self on one of those dunks, it gets everybody off the bench. And Al plays with so much passion, and when Al’s playing with passion like that everybody else has to follow.”
The Celtics and the Bucks continue their Eastern Conference semifinal series on Wednesday night at TD Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
