Michael Holley discusses why he believes the Celtics will win the NBA championship if they can get past the Milwaukee Bucks. He breaks down why Phoenix and Milwaukee’s injuries should make Boston the favorites.
Al Horford is one of the veteran leaders of the Boston Celtics, and he saw a moment near the end of his team's Game 4 playoff win over the Brooklyn Nets where leadership was needed.
The end of Monday night's matchup was an emotional one, to say the least.
The Celtics were trying to pull off a stunning first-round sweep of the Nets. Celtics star Jayson Tatum fouled out on a questionable call with 2:49 remaining and Boston leading by six. It was a pressure-packed, series-clinching moment the Celtics hadn't faced in a while.
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The Nets cut into the lead soon after Tatum exited, but clutch plays from Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Horford himself helped the C's close out the series.
After putting Boston up four on a put-back layup with 13.7 seconds remaining, Horford embraced with Brown and gave him some words of encouragement.
In his press conference Wednesday, Horford explained what that moment was like. Check out his response in the video below:
Horford has exceeded expectations with his play this season, and that success continued into Round 1.
He averaged 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game versus the Nets. But perhaps more importantly, Horford has been the exact type of veteran leader this Celtics team needs. That moment with Brown at the end of Game 4 was the perfect example of that.