MILWAUKEE -- Early in the third quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo got the ball on the fast break and dunked on Al Horford. He had something to say to the Celtic big man, enough to earn himself a technical foul, and a nodding “okay” reaction from Horford.
“The way that he was looking at me and the way he was going about it really didn’t sit well with me,” Horford said. “I think at that point, something switched with me in the game.”
Horford was already on his way to a good game at that point, shooting 4-4 for 11 points. But then he kicked it up a notch, starting with returning fire on Giannis with a dunk, and emotional celebration, of his own.
“It was a big-time play, a big-time moment,” Marcus Smart said. “We’ve been on the other end of those a couple of times, so it felt good to have that one. And, you know, Al still has it. At this age, he’s still able to get up like he does. So we weren’t surprised, but we were ecstatic for him and we needed it. But we felt it. Everybody did. The energy changed once that happened from Al. It got him going and it got everybody else going.”
This really didn't look like the Celtics night through three quarters of this game. Between the foul trouble, more missed shots, more turnovers, and Antetokounmpo carrying the Bucks to a double-digit lead, it just felt like it was time to start writing Boston’s obituary.
But, just like their season, the Celtics seemed to miraculously cure their early struggles and come away with another “can you believe this is the same team?” performance. Usually it’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who make that happen. And while Tatum did put the cherry on top of this sundae, it was Horford who built it.
“Man, we love Al. He’s one of the best vets we’ve ever had. The best vet I’ve ever had,” Smart said after the 116-108 Game 4 win. “He comes in and it never changes with him. Things going bad or good, he’s gonna be him and nine times out of 10, it’s gonna work out in our favor. So it was very much needed of him, and he came through big for us and helped us secure this win tonight.”
A year ago, Horford wasn’t sure where his career was going to take him. He was hoping for the best after doing and saying the right things in Oklahoma City, but things were out of his control. On Monday night in Milwaukee, Horford played the best playoff game of his life, scoring a playoff career-high 30 points while hitting almost 80% of his shots. He hit 5 of Boston’s 14 3-pointers, and two more from deep than anyone on the Bucks.
“He’s been great all year, but we really needed him to step up with guys being out,” Ime Udoka said. “He took that on his shoulders. They guard him a certain way, he’s able to attack, love the aggressiveness.”
After Game 3, Horford sat in the tiny visiting media room and glared straight ahead when he was asked questions. The normally personable, even-keeled Horford let emotion seep into his face after that loss. He was not happy.
“We felt that, at the end of Game 3, we were in a position to win the game and we didn’t,” Horford said. “I was just really just locked in. I understood the moment, what we needed to do as a group and just come out and then really just did whatever it took tonight. It was one of those type of nights.”
Horford gave the Celtics the lead for good with a 3-pointer with 5:40 to play. That set his new playoff scoring mark before adding a few more points to it on the next play. He then turned things over to Tatum, who took it from there, which is kind of appropriate.
“Al’s been great for the team, Al’s been great for me,” Tatum said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to play with Al for three years and I remember coming in my rookie year and seeing Al Horford. I’ve been seeing him play my whole life, and it was great to see somebody taking care of their body, just be the ultimate professional, the ultimate teammate, and just all about the right things. Nobody can ever say anything bad about Al, and he’s helped me a great deal in the three years we’ve played together. I’m very lucky and fortunate to be able to call Al a teammate.”
He was especially fortunate to have Horford as a teammate in Game 4. It’s been a wild twist of fate to bring Horford back to Boston in the first place, and now Tatum is grabbing the baton from him, and pushing the team closer to the Eastern Conference Finals.
No one thought he’d be here a year ago. And I’m pretty sure no one thought he’d be dunking on Antetokounmpo to swing a playoff game, maybe even the series, a day ago.
“That was a hell of a play,” Tatum said. “Especially any time Al turns back the clock and looks like his old self on those dunks, it gets everybody off the bench. And Al plays with so much passion. When Al is playing with passion like that, everybody has to follow.”