Al Horford fires Celtics to victory
Los Angeles, Oct. 31: Al Horford delivered 14 points and 13 rebounds as the Boston Celtics won their fifth straight and snapped an 11-game losing skid to the San Antonio Spurs with a 108-94 win on Monday.
Kyrie Irving played his best game for the Celtics who beat the injury-depleted Spurs for the first time in Boston since January 2011.
The Celtics have rallied from an 0-2 season start that saw them lose new signee Gordon Hayward to an injury in the opening game at Cleveland.
“We’re just really buying into what the coach wants us to do and our young guys, they’re all ears,” said Horford. “They’re all listening, trying to be better.”
Irving led his new team by scoring 24 points, while Jaylen Brown scored 18 for the Celtics who improved to 5-2 on the 2017-18 NBA season. Former first overall draft pick Irving was dealt to the Celtics in the offseason after demanding a trade out of Cleveland.
Terry Rozier scored eight of his 12 points in 52 seconds to put the game away in the fourth quarter and rookie Jayson Tatum grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Marcus Smart added nine points and seven rebounds in the win.
The Spurs are still without injured Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili also skipped the game to get some needed rest. San Antonio got a career-high 18 points and five rebound performance from Brandon Paul.
Pau Gasol had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs who suffered their third straight loss 1-3. They won at Miami to start the trip. —