San Francisco (AFP)
At the age of thirty-six and after playing 141 games in the playoffs, Al Huford is playing his first NBA Final, and he achieved a giant first game in which he led the Boston Celtics to a dear victory at the Golden State Warriors. .
After Boston qualified for the final round, by defeating the Miami Heat last Sunday, the Dominican fell to his knees in tears and exploded with all his energy 15 years of frustration and great sadness, which he contained over the death of his grandfather a few days ago.
“I didn’t know how to handle myself,” said the 109-kg player and a five-time All-Star Game All-Star, most recently four years ago.
The two meters and six centimeters tall player, his feet and his most prominent muscles dried up four days later, in his first final match in his career, which he began in the “NBA” in 2007 with the Atlanta Hawks.
While the Golden State Warriors was a strong candidate at home with its two stars Stephen Curry and Clay Thompson, Horford finished the match as the best scorer for his team with 26 points, with a great percentage (9 out of 12), including 11 in the last quarter, when Boston reduced a 15-point delay and made a comeback. 40-16” shocked the San Francisco fans, ending the match with a score of 120-108.
“Big Al” or “The Big Al” became the first player to score six hat-tricks “from 8 attempts” in his first match in the league final. And he became the second-oldest player to score this amount of points behind Chris Paul “Phoenix”, who scored 32 last year at the age of 36 in the Milwaukee Bucks, who later won the title.
“I’ve waited so long for this moment… I am grateful for living this opportunity and happy to share it with these young people,” Horford said at a press conference.
His colleague Marcus Smart, with 18 points in the first match, sees in the final, which culminates in his title, the winner in four out of seven possible matches: we were so excited for him. He is the protector of the den! He works hard. His professional style, his daily behaviour…we knew it was only a matter of time for him to live a big game.”
During the playoff, he faced giants like Kevin Durant “Brooklyn Nets”, Greek Yannis Antetokounmpo “Milwaukee Bucks” or Jimmy Butler “Miami Heat”.
Good credit for the player who was believed to have begun to decline, after 13 unsuccessful attempts in the playoffs, since he came third in the selection of new players “Draft” in 2007 in favor of the Atlanta Hawks.
In nine seasons with the Hawks, he lost the Eastern Conference Final once to the Cleveland Cavaliers and its giant LeBron James (2015), who stopped him again at the same stage during his first pass with Boston (2017 and 2018).
After a season with the Philadelphia 76ers and a bleak season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, former Boston coach Brad Stephens called him, after becoming the club’s general manager, to play a leadership role with the green team entering a changeover phase with new coach Aimee Odoka.
Odoka, who is in his first season as head coach in the league, praised him: what he has done this season is unbelievable. Arrived at training camp in perfect condition. He communicates a lot, shows example by his behavior. Everyone is related to him.
Fellow co-star Jaylen Brown continues: I am proud to share this moment with a mentor, a brother, and a young man like Al Horford.
#Finally #Horford #taste #final