Al Horford shares love story with TD Garden crowd on in‘special night’

The veteran big man was nothing short of incredible on Wednesday night.

With no Donovan Mitchell, no Jarrett Allen, and no Caris LeVert, the Cleveland Cavaliers were fighting for their season on Wednesday night. And through the middle of the second quarter, they were very much alive.

The Cavs led by three with just over four minutes to go before Derrick White nailed a three to tie the game. Cleveland had the Boston Celtics within striking distance in a game they had no business being in on paper.

That’s when Al Horford came to life.

Immediately after White’s three, Horford blocked Darius Garland’s layup attempt off the backboard.

Then, less than two minutes later, he spiked another Garland shot into the ground. It was there that the love affair between Horford and the TD Garden crowd took on a life of its own.

Sandwiched in between the two blocks, Horford nailed a three-pointer of his own. And by the time the end of the quarter rolled around, he was ready to explode.

Horford missed a three with 1:08 to go in the third quarter—already the Celtics’ second shot attempt of the possession thanks to his own offensive rebound—but he wasn’t ready to let the moment go.

He sprinted down his miss, soared into the sky like Zeus in front of the Celtics bench, and treated the ball like a lightning bolt, pinging it off of Dean Wade and maintaining Boston’s possession.

“The one play in particular when he saved the ball out of bounds, the last two minutes of the second quarter, it just gave us that extra possession. It pumped the crowd up, pumped our team up,” said Jayson Tatum. “Those plays—that was so meaningful.

“Just how he played in the second half on the defensive end, he knocked down big shots time and time again. His performance, his energy — his leadership tonight was crucial.”

Once again, Celtics fans in attendance let out thunderous cheers.

“Tonight was a special night for our group because we had this chance to close it out here at home, and for me, the biggest thing was just bringing energy,” said Horford. “Bringing energy to our group. I felt like we lacked it in the first quarter, and when I came back in the second, I felt like we needed to step it up.

“We were talking about it a lot in the huddle, but we weren’t really getting it done. And we had a great opportunity here at home to handle this, and I knew it was gonna take a lot more than just playing a normal game.”

Horford finished Game 5 with 22 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, one steal and three blocks. He shot 8/15 from the field and 6/13 from behind the three-point line.

Cleveland left him open for a huge chunk of the series, deciding to send pressure at the rest of the Celtics’ offense. Horford went 0/10 from distance in Games 3 and 4, but when it mattered most, he turned up.

“They left him open all series, and he had a tough shooting a couple of games,” said Joe Mazzulla. “And for a guy like him, he just needs to keep shooting. And just the way he affected the game in different ways was awesome. [I’m] honored to coach him.”

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

TD Garden’s obsession with Horford didn’t end in the second quarter. As the game went on, the Celtics veteran continued to find ways to sink his teeth into the contest.

Whether it was an open layup off a feed from Jaylen Brown or a big-time three in a huge spot, Horford was letting his emotions flow. And the crowd loved it.

Up by 14 points with just under a minute to go, Horford lined up yet another triple at the top of the key: Bullseye.

He screamed and jumped all the way to halfcourt as Bostonians all throughout the building erupted into a frenzy.

At the very next pause in the action, Mazzulla subbed Horford out so the fans could give him the standing ovation he deserved. But before he left the hardwood, Horford made sure to waltz over to the sideline one final time, raising his arms as if to embrace the crowd right there on the parquet.

“It’s special. It’s special at the Garden,” said Horford. “This is something I don’t take for granted. The energy of the fans. Our fans, they love the Celtics. They want us to play hard. They want us to play the right way. And I just felt very connected with them tonight. The way that we were playing, that we got it going.

“I felt like there was a connection there, and there [were] just a few times that I wanted to be embraced by them in those moments. That fuels me, that fuels our team. So, it was pretty, pretty special tonight.”

With the Celtics hoping to avoid a head-hanging trip back to Cleveland for a Game 6, Horford saw what the Cavs were willing to give up and made them pay for it. He gave Boston the juice they needed to send their opponents packing for the summer.

“Everybody’s a leader on the team in a different way. And Al leads instrumentally,” Mazzulla said. “Not much of a talker. Tonight you saw his gift, his gift is just passion, inspiration, toughness, competitive nature.”

It took Horford just a single quarter to diagnose what the team needed from it and even less time for him to dial it up and pour it on.

Having him as a leader gives the Celtics a constant face they can turn to and rely on.

“I think just obviously his character, how he treats everybody, how everybody respects him because he always puts the team first, he’s always been like that,” said Tatum. “He truly does whatever it takes for the team to be better, and you see every day when he comes in, and he puts the work in in the weight room, on the court, on the bike, on the treatment table, whatever it is to make sure that he’s available and ready for whatever we need him for. And it just kind of sets the tone.

“If somebody at this stage in his career and at his age is doing all those things, there’s really no excuse for the rest of us.”

Both on and off the court, Tatum expressed his respect and admiration for his teammate.

“It’s nothing short of special,” Tatum said of Horford being so productive at 37 years old. “Al is like a brother to me, somebody I love dearly and had the pleasure of being his teammate for six out of my seven years.”

Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

With their win over Cleveland on Wednesday, the Celtics are now slated to appear in their sixth Eastern Conference Finals in the last eight years.

Horford has been a key member of five of them, and he’s absolutely honored to be a part of this one.

“It’s special. It’s something that—it’s hard to do. It’s very difficult to do. And it means a lot to me,” Horford said of making his third straight Eastern Conference Finals. “I’m very proud of just the work that our guys continue to put in.”

But he also knows the journey is far from over.

“Guys are trying to play the right way. They’re sacrificing for the team. That’s been a theme for us all year,” Horford said. “I’m just very proud of where we’re at right now at this point, understanding that there’s a lot of work to do ahead for our group.”