An unwanted trash talk from the part of the Atlanta Hawks fans served as the fuel for Al Horford to contribute on the final blow for the Boston Celtics to officially close their first-round set on Thursday.
Though Atlanta holds a special place in his heart given that the franchise catered his humble beginnings for the first nine years of his professional career, Horford wasn’t amused of the reception he took from the fans in Game 6 on Thursday. This prompted the veteran big to get pivotal as he drained a key three-pointer down the stretch and grabbed seven boards in only the fourth frame.
“There was somebody there,” Horford said, per MassLive’s Brian Robb. “I’m not going to call him out but I appreciated it because he got me going. He said some stuff there that I wasn’t very pleased with. And I took it to heart and I was able to hit that shot. So I appreciate him for talking trash to me. There are some people you can talk trash to. Talk trash to me, it’s probably not good for you.”
Horford went on to ice the game with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists on the 128-120 series-clinching dub against Atlanta. He also helped the C’s at the defensive end by notching two blocks and three steals.
After falling against the Hawks in a miserable Game 5 defeat on Tuesday, Horford noted that the Celtics were laser focused to finally cap off the series and move to the next round.
The C’s are set to face a rival club in Philadelphia 76ers, with their second-round series opener to commence on Monday.
“We talked about finishing the game,” Horford said. “I felt the last game, for the most part, we were fine. But tonight there was that sense of urgency. We understood how important it was to not extend the series.”
