Celtics
Horford might be 37 years old, but he didn’t look like it here.
Al Horford made Tobias Harris look foolish with a pair of blocks on back-to-back layup tries Friday night.
Midway through the fourth quarter in the Celtics’ 125-119 victory over the 76ers at home, Boston trailed by two points and needed a stop.
Horford gave them not just one stop, but two in as many seconds.
Philadelphia’s De’Anthony Melton fed a rainbow pass to Harris from just in front of the Celtics’ Lucky logo that landed right in Harris’s hands under the basket. Thinking he was safe to lay an easy two points up after Sam Hauser moved out of the way, in came Horford with a nasty block off the glass.
The ball went right back into Harris’s hands, so he tried again. And he was denied once again, by Horford, with a nasty block off the glass.
Watch the incredible defensive effort here:
After the game, Horford talked about the play, but kept it nonchalant.
“Just trying to make something happen,” Horford told Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston. “… I was just obviously trying to protect the basket and trying to get us going.”
The 37-year-old Horford didn’t look a day over 27. Boston needed an extra helping of youth in the second half after Jayson Tatum was ejected on his second technical foul of the night in the third quarter.
Horford did his part to step up in place of Tatum once he was sent to the locker room. The center also started in place of the injured Kristaps Porzingis, logging 33 minutes in the win.
Horford also scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed six rebounds to help give the Celtics their 15th win of the year.
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