The shorthanded Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night with Al Horford playing his best game of the season.
In just his third start of the season, Horford was just the spark the Celtics needed with Kristaps Porzingis missing the game due to a knee injury and Jaylen Brown unable to play with an illness.
“It starts with Al, right?” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “We can’t have the type of culture and the type of team and the thing that we have without a guy like him.”
Mazzulla continued: “For him to come off the bench some games and then when his name is called to play the way he did in that second half. He came up to me after he missed a three on the right wing and asked me if he should have cut to the basket.”
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Boston’s second-year coach explained to Horford that he should have taken a quicker shot and the 37-year-old center responded with a three from the corner.
“When you can empower him and he’s ready to go, it just makes us a different team,” Mazzulla said. “He’s in that list of like, when he plays hard, he inspires everybody.”
Horford shot 55.6% from the field including 4-for-8 from downtown for 14 points in 29 minutes of playing time. He added five blocks to go with eight rebounds in the win.
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Even more impressive was Horford’s defense against Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, including a big block of a driving layup by Maxey that ended with a Derrick White three at the other end of the court to put the Celtics up seven late in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics big man admitted the fans in Philly fueled him a little bit throughout the game — especially when he drilled a three from the corner.
“There were some fans in the front row talking. I just love it, man,” Horford told reporters after the win, per team-provided video. “When I hear that talk it just gives you a little extra so I appreciate them.”
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Horford continued: “They always do that, in that corner here in Philly. I don’t know what it is, they want to talk. Some people go off in a different way, to me, I like it. It was good to hit that shot and turn around and look at them and smile.”
The win proved the Celtics can beat good teams even without having their complete lineup on any given night and lifted Boston atop of the Eastern Conference standings at 9-2 on the season.
Featured image via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
