Horford’s buzzer beater lifts Celtics past Blazers
LOS ANGELES — Al Horford rattled in a fadeaway jumper as the buzzer sounded to lift the Boston Celtics to a 97-96 NBA win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
"It's a shot I work on a lot and it felt good when it left my hands," Horford said.
Horford, Semi Ojeleye and Jayson Tatum scored consecutive three-pointers late in the fourth quarter as the Celtics took the lead with an 11-0 scoring run after trailing 85-79.
Horford said teammate Jaylen Brown was supposed to take the last shot but he was covered.
"That shot epitomizes the work he puts in," Brown said. "He embraces those opportunities and steps up to the challenge."
Horford finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, who won their fourth game in a row. Tatum had 17 points and Brown scored 16 for the Celtics in front of a crowd of 18,600 at the Boston Garden arena.
Terry Rozier, starting in place of injured guard Kyrie Irving, had 11 points on five-of-18 shooting.
Damian Lillard scored the final eight points for the Blazers, including a three-point play with seven seconds left to give them the lead 96-95.
Lillard finished with 21 points shooting six-of19 from the field. C.J. McCollum led the Blazers with 22 points.
"They executed well down the stretch, made some tough shots," McCollum said. "Credit them for battling back and then down the stretch they seemed to match every basket."
Celtics coach Brad Stevens said they were going to celebrate the win by watching the New England Patriots battle the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52.
"Wanted to end the game so we could go watch the Super Bowl," Stevens said.