Clad in Boston Celtics white, with shamrock green lettering, former Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford returned to Philips Arena Friday night as the Hawks and Celtics faced off in a nationally televised game on ESPN.
After showering him with boos during the team introductions, and every time he touched the ball in the first quarter, Hawks fans finally showed some appreciation for their former center, giving Horford a standing ovation during a short video tribute during the break before the second quarter. Horford waived to the crowd, and then got back to business with his new teammates.
“I know there are a lot of fans out there who appreciated my time here and I appreciate them,” Horford said. “Before the game I got a chance to catch up with a lot of the coaches, a lot of the guys and that was good.”
Drafted by Atlanta with the third pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Horford spent nine seasons in Atlanta and made four all-star teams before leaving the ATL for “greener” pastures in Boston this offseason, signing a multi-year deal with the Celtics.
Paired with emerging superstar point guard Isaiah Thomas, Horford and the Celtics provided the Philips faithful with a highly anticipated matchup against the Hawks center-point guard combo of Dwight Howard and Dennis Schroder. It was a matchup the Celtics won easily.
After trailing by as many as 20 points, the Hawks, led by Tim Hardaway Jr. and Malcolm Delaney, put together a furious fourth quarter comeback to tie the game in the final seconds, only to lose 103-101 on a game-winning shot by Thomas at the buzzer.
“At the start of the fourth, we just wanted to cut the lead as the game progressed,” said Hardaway Jr. “It got close at the end and we had an opportunity to come back and win. The last play didn’t go that well.”
The win improves the Celtics to 25-15, while the Hawks fell to 22-17. The loss also snapped the Hawks seven-game winning streak.
“They played better for more of the 48 minutes than we did,” said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. “It was a heck of a comeback. It was a heck of a game.”
