Brad Stevens Says Al Horford Feels Like Tom Brady After Hitting Game-Winner

On the day Tom Brady looks to capture his sixth Super Bowl ring, another Boston sports star made a big splash. Celtics forward Al Horford's game-winning fadeaway gave Boston a 97-96 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday and had the All-Star feeling like the Patriots quarterback.

"We wanted Al to hit the shot so we could go watch the game," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters after the game.

The Celtics and Blazers had a noon tipoff, as the NBA scheduled its games Sunday to avoid conflict with the Super Bowl. The Patriots will play the Philadelphia Eagles at 6:30 p.m. ET.

"This group has a lot of heart," Horford told reporters. "We're all about hard work, and we really had to grind this one out."

The Celtics struggled throughout the first half, trailing by 16 at the break as their offense stumbled without Kyrie Irving. Horford finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, a vast majority of which came in Boston's second-half comeback.

The Celtics have won four straight games before they visit the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday in a matchup of the Eastern Conference's top two seeds.

By that time, we'll see if Brady can pull a Horford and lead his team to another victory—much in the same way he did in a comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in last year's Super Bowl.