How Al Horford’s ‘unbelievable’ defense lifted Celtics in Game 4 win
ORLANDO Joe Mazzulla saluted Celtics stars Jayson Tatum Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis for their vital contributions in Sunday s Championship win over the Magic The head coach s highest compliment however was reserved for -year-old Al Horford There should be a separate stat sheet for guys like him because of the type of stuff that he does Mazzulla disclosed after the Celtics won - at the Kia Center to take a - lead in their first-round playoff series He s just an unbelievable competitor Made all the plays necessary to help us win Making his second consecutive start in place of injured guard Jrue Holiday Horford scored just six points in the hard-fought success but blocked five Orlando shots his majority of in a competition since January Two of those came in the fourth quarter as the Celtics turned a - tie with four minutes remaining into a nine-point win With to play and the Celtics leading - Horford tracked Paolo Banchero and denied the Orlando star at the rim After the Celtics were called for an eight-second violation on the ensuing possession Horford s scrappiness under the basket helped foil another Magic scoring chance as he tied up Gary Harris and Wendell Carter Jr to force a turnover Related Articles Celtics stars shine as Boston bounces back in Tournament win over Magic Magic coach doesn t care about Celtics physicality complaints Why Kristaps Porzingis Payton Pritchard are Celtics X-factors in Championship Celtics notebook Jrue Holiday injury update Boston s Challenge priority There might be a fight Flagrant fouls injuries mount in Celtics-Magic series Both of those plays came after the oldest member of Boston s roster swooped in as a help defender to blast a shot from Cory Joseph into the stands I can t say it enough Al is unbelievable announced Tatum who led all scorers with points and rebounds Big moments the competition is tied four minutes left and just making plays the entire night on both ends of the floor years old he s picking up full court doing whatever is solicited of him and that just kind of sets the tone for everybody else He s got the heart of a champion Horford also came up with a timely offensive rebound midway through the fourth quarter feeding Derrick White for a layup after a missed Tatum -pointer Beyond his box-score stats he served as Boston s de facto enforcer as well racing in to confront Carter after the Magic center floored a driving White with a hip check Universally beloved inside the Celtics locker room Horford has a habit of elevating his play in Boston s biggest games Specific of the best performances of his th NBA regular season came in matchups against former MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo Nikola Jokic and LeBron James On Sunday Horford helped the Celtics avoid a second straight loss to a bulldog Magic association that s challenged the defending champs in all four games in this series Tremendous tremendous effort from Al down the stretch in that second half Brown commented Big-time rebounds various big-time plays That block was huge He just did what it took to win and we don t expect nothing less That s just Al Horford in a nutshell
