SAN FRANCISCO — Al Horford, known over the course of 15 seasons for his calm and quiet leadership, has let his emotions out this postseason.
There he was again Thursday night, flexing and chest-thumping, rallying teammates and, at a just-turned 36, making many of the plays in a 41-16 fourth quarter run that gave the Celtics a 1-0 lead over Golden State in the NBA Finals.
He was 4 for 4 in the fourth, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 5:08 followed by — set up by his own steal — another bomb from the top of the circle. He ultimately scored eight straight points in the 17-0 run, then rebounded a Jaylen Brown miss and kicked out to Marcus Smart for the first of two 3s by the Celtics point guard.