The Boston Celtics put together one of their worst all-around performances of the entire season in Sunday night's Game 3 loss against the Miami Heat. The Celtics lost by a final score of 128-102 behind 29 points from Heat guard Gabe Vincent. Boston is now trailing in the series 3-0, and no team in NBA history has come all the way back from this deficit to win a playoff series.
But Celtics veteran big man Al Horford believes that this series isn't over just yet. He spoke to the media following Boston's ugly Game 3 loss and delivered a strong take, per a tweet from Taylor Snow:
“Rightfully so, we're being counted out because we haven't been able to respond. But we're not out yet.”
Al Horford, 36, is in his 16th year in the NBA and fifth as a member of the storied Celtics franchise. He averaged 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.0 blocks, 0.6 turnovers, and 1.9 personal fouls per game across 63 appearances this season (all starts).
The former Florida star shot the ball with great accuracy from behind the three-point arc in the 2022-23 campaign, even by his standards — Horford's 44.6% three-point percentage was the highest of his pro career.
Horford and the Celtics have a must-win Game 4 ahead of them on Tuesday night. If they lose to Butler and the Heat on the road once again, their season will be over. So here's to hoping that Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both have big games for the Celtics and lead the team to a victory on Tuesday night.