One year ago, Al Horford was in basketball purgatory. After one year with the powerhouse Philadelphia 76ers in 2019, Horford had been unceremoniously dumped on the Oklahoma City Thunder, who benched him for the second half of the 2020-21 season. Perhaps that half-season of rest was why, back with the Boston Celtics on the eve of his 36th birthday, Horford led the Celtics with 26 points and six three-pointers in Boston’s 120-108 comeback win over the Golden State Warriors in Game One of the NBA Finals.
The ageless Horford led the way with 11 points on 4-4 shooting in a 40-point Celtics’ 4th quarter that erased a 12-point deficit and blew out the Warriors.