To close out a playoff series where his minutes ticked up, Al Horford turned back the clock.
The nearly 38-year-old center posted 22 points, and recorded 15 rebounds and three blocks to keep Boston out of Cleveland’s reach in a game where the Cavaliers were already severely shorthanded.
As he slipped into a back hallway of TD Garden for a postgame interview, a passerby shouted, “[expletive], Al!”
It was precisely the resurgence Horford needed heading into the Eastern Conference Finals, acting as much more than a sixth man stopgap while fellow big Kristaps Porzingis prepares to return from injury.
Horford had struggled over the weekend in Cleveland. He put up a dismal 19 points across his previous three games combined. He shot just 14% from the field in Game 3. His game looked even older than his years in Game 4.
It was fair to wonder whether he was feeling the increase in his workload, up from an average of about 25 minutes per game against Miami to 31 against Cleveland. Could the Celtics make this last while Porzingis was on ice?
Boston came out a bit flat in the first quarter, and discussed it in the huddle. Horford decided to change that.
“I knew it was going to take a lot more than a normal game,” he said.
Enter Ageless Al, the spry and feisty version of Horford once praised as “phenomenal” by teammate Jaylen Brown on the eve of his 36th birthday back in the 2022 Finals.
The Cavs left him open all night and targeted him on defense for a matchup with Darius Garland.
Mistake and mistake.
He credited his teammates for a “special night” where they could close out the conference semifinals at home.
“The guys just did a great job, JT, JB, or Jrue, finding me,” he said.
His night really took off in the second quarter with a corner three that put Boston up 51-48 over the Cavs, buoyed by their own older fella in Marcus Morris Sr. A minute later, he chased down Darius Garland and blocked a reverse layup. He turned to the crowd – subdued up until that moment – flexed and roared.
“That’s who Al is as a person,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said postgame. “I thought he was tremendous.”
When asked what it’s like to coach a player two years his senior, Mazzulla chuckled.
“There’s a mutual respect there. We have some interests. But credit to Al, since I got the job, he made a decision to trust me – which he didn’t have to do.”
Tonight, the trust paid off. Horford is in his 16th postseason, still looking for a ring. He heads back to his fifth Eastern Conference Finals in Celtics Green, hoping this will be the year for Banner 18.
“It’s special when you’re here at the Garden,” he said. “It’s something I don’t take for granted.”