Tito Horford Reacts to Al’s Iconic Celtics-Cavs Game 5 as Boston Advances

BOSTON — Al Horford entered Wednesday’s Game 5 shooting 34.4% from the field, 4-for-22 (18.2%) from three and leaving some Celtics fans wondering if a pivot to Xavier Tillman Sr. would make sense. Joe Mazzulla stood by him, saying he’d be ok before another difficult Game 4, albeit scaling his minutes back from 39 to 28 in favor of Luke Kornet that night. He started 1-for-4 from deep in Game 5, giving Mazzulla another opportunity to pivot away. He didn’t.

“It was pretty exciting,” Tito Horford, Horford’s father, told CLNS Media. “I believe every good player, they’re gonna go through a slump, but the slump’s not gonna last too long. Especially a veteran player like my son … he came up big for the team and I believe the most important thing, he kept the players together and they came focused. They know they had to take care of business. They know they had to take care of business. They know they had the opportunity to make it to the next round … they just kept focusing and they finished strong.”

Horford buried his sixth three to finish with 22 points, 15 rebounds and five assists with 56 seconds remaining, vaulting the Celtics to a 113-98 win and a 4-1 series win over the Cavaliers. He danced across the logo and pumped his fists as the Garden crowd rose in its loudest ovation of the season. Mazzulla removed him moments later to take in more applause as MVP chants began. Jayson Tatum shot 9-for-16 and neared a triple double with 25 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and grinding out four steals in another defensive win that didn’t begin smoothly on either end of the floor. But it was all about Horford after, who said it only mattered because they won.

He found his footing midway through the first quarter to break an 0-for-11 three-point shooting slump. He missed two more though, rushed into a quick corner release on his fourth try while mostly left alone for the rest of the half. That allowed him to regain some rhythm, hitting from the wing wide open after two misses to begin the second quarter. Fewer minutes in Game 3 energized him defensively too, standing at the rim for stops on Isaac Okoro before preventing an Evan Mobley put-back as both teams played to a surprising 28-28 opening frame with Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen out.

“I don’t say much to him,” Tito said regarding the slump. “I just say, sometimes you’re gonna have a bad game. Just move forward. Try to be better the next game and then he’s a very humble person. He always listens, and then says, ‘I’m gonna get better, daddy. I’m gonna do better next game,’ and that’s what he did today. At his age, 37, 38 on June 3 next month, I think it’s unbelievable, because you need to understand, he’s been in the league for 17 years as a starter. Now, he’s coming off the bench. He’s the starter right now because Kristaps Porzingis is hurt. That makes me very proud of what he does, on the court and off the court, and how he prepares himself for every game.”

Boston turned it over four times in the first, undermining the team’s 6-for-12 start from three. Cleveland attempted only two fewer threes and committed two turnovers, margins that kept the series close through four games (429-408 BOS). The Cavs shot more threes (154-147) over that stretch, a continuation of their regular season matchup yet a rare spot for the Celtics to play in. Cleveland took 48 threes to the Celtics’ 32 in Game 4, which forced a close game into crunch time. On Wednesday, Boston regained that advantage, taking 43 threes while Horford alone shot 6-for-13.

Max Strus, Sam Merrill and Okoro hit theirs to open the second and give the Cavs the lead for much of the frame. Jaylen Brown responded by finishing twice at the rim, but Marcus Morris Sr. emerged through Cleveland’s many injuries to score five points in a row, pointing at his former teammate and maintaining the Cavs’ advantage. The former Celtic dropped 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting before halftime and never cooled down. Horford had an answer, blocking Darius Garland twice at the rim after doing so in the first quarter, standing along the baseline and hyping up the crowd after doing the same following the travel he forced on Dean Wade.

He then chased down his own missed in front of Boston’s bench, firing the ball off Wade and out-of-bounds to send the Garden into a frenzy.

“It just gave us that extra possessions and pumped the crowd up, pumped our team up,” Tatum said. “Those plays, that was so meaningful, and how he played in the second half on the defensive end. He knocked down big shots time and time again. His performance, his energy, his leadership tonight was crucial … Al is like a brother to me. Someone I love dearly and have had the pleasure of being his teammate for six out of my seven years.”

Boston’s defensive intensity increased, and Horford immediately tipped away a Garland in-bound following the third block to set Tatum up for a transition dunk and a 53-48 lead. Derrick White blocked Strus at the three-point line and Tatum drained a step-back three to enter halftime ahead by six.

Tatum set Horford up for a running dunk early in the third before stealing the ball from Garland and dunking the other way, Boston leading by seven when he pulled up for a three that missed and Horford chased down along the Cavs bench this time. Tatum caught the intentional tip underneath the rim and scored again.

“I give Al a lot of credit for how he’s transitioned and adapted his game to still play a major role and have a huge impact,” Tatum said. “I’ve watched Al, how professional he is, how he carries himself, how he’s taken care of his body. I’ve stolen a lot of things from Al throughout my career. Having a routine every single day … having a plan of what you gonna do to get better today?”

Two plays later, Tatum connected with Horford for a wide open three as the Cavs made the decision to leave him along on his way to a 5-for-12 night from deep. A 6-for-8 Mobley quarter kept the game in doubt, most of that success coming with Luke Kornet on the floor, the big man making one last stand for Cleveland with 33 points.

It wasn’t enough though. Nor was a 10-for-12 Morris heater that continued into the fourth. White, Horford and Tatum hit threes on a 13-2 run that exploded the lead to 14. Tatum reached nine assists with a dump to Jrue Holiday wide open underneath the basket, the final of three feeds in the frame. Holiday scored at the basket again two plays later, then pitched the ball to Horford above the break for the final make of the series.

“He’s been so close. He’s been there so many times in the eastern finals,” Tito said. “Right now, the most important thing is to take care of the conference final, and then everything will speak for itself. When we talk about this year, I think everybody knows the Celtics have the material to be the NBA champion. They have the players, they have the staff, the coaches and I think if everybody stays healthy, I think they’re gonna get it this year.”