Kristaps Porzingis’s return from injury received much of the limelight following Game 1, but the Celtics continued to get strong minutes out of their other standout big in their 107-89 win over the Mavericks to open the NBA Finals.
Al Horford had a relatively modest stat line in Thursday’s win, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and going 2-for-5 on 3-pointers. He also added seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes, starting for the 11th straight game as the Celtics opted to bring Porzingis off the bench.
Joe Mazzulla’s move to bring Porzingis off the bench and keep Horford in the starting lineup for the 11th straight game paid dividends though, because of the things the 38-year-old did that weren’t seen on the box score.