Al Horford Accomplishes Feat Last Matched by Hakeem Olajuwon
Boston Celtics center Al Horford missed a triple-double by just one rebound during Sunday's 123-111 Game 1 win over the Washington Wizards in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Horford finished the night with 21 points, 10 assists, nine rebounds and one block. While he missed out on the elusive triple-double, the big man became the first center since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1995 to post 20 points and 10 assists in a postseason game, per the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com).
The Celtics fell behind 16-0 to start the contest and trailed by 14 at the end of the first quarter, but they regrouped and managed to recoup nine points in the second quarter for a five-point halftime deficit. Boston then outscored Washington by 20 in the third and coasted to victory the rest of the way.
Boston made a bit of history with the victory as well, becoming just the second team in the last 10 years to rally from a 16-0 deficit to win. Ironically, the club was on the other end of the last occurrence. The Celtics opened up a 17-0 lead against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 1, 2012 before going on to lose 91-88.
Horford has contributed in a major way through seven postseason games this season, averaging 16.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists. He should anchor the club down low the rest of the way as the Celtics attempt to make a deep postseason run after earning the franchise's first No.1 seed since 2007-08, when they won the championship.
