BOSTON -- Saturday night marked the 1,314th game in the long and illustrious career of Boston Celtics center Al Horford. Now in his 18th NBA season, Horford long ago got past the point where a run-of-the-mill game in the middle of the season will change his demeanor much -- if at all.
But Saturday night's matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers felt anything like a typical regular-season game in March. And Horford -- along with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla and the rest of his teammates -- didn't treat it like one.
Horford played 37 minutes -- his second-highest total of the season -- and put up 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, all while being relentlessly hunted by the Lakers throughout what became a 111-101 Celtics victory.