Al Horford admitted to having a special motivation to notch the first triple-double of his 2018-19 season before trotting out a 19-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist night in the Boston Celtics' 1101-05 win against the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Horford admitted to looking at his wife, Anna, on the sidelines and getting the final nod from her to reach the feat.
“It feels good, it's definitely good,” said Horford, nodding to a reporter that said he's had plenty of games when he's been a rebound or an assist away from a triple-double. “Like you said, it's been a lot of games like that. I looked over at my wife and she was like ‘you better get it.' She just kept looking at me and I was like ‘I gotchu, I gotchu'.
“I just tried to continue playing the right way and I'm glad it worked out in my favor and obviously we got the win.”
This was only Horford's 11th double-digit rebounding game, but he had come close to a triple-double even dating back to his second game of the season when he posted 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in a loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Big Al is known for playing the right way and doing so unselfishly for the good of his team, but this is surely a feel-good moment for him and his family — giving him a moment of glory in an otherwise turbulent season of ups and downs for the Celtics.
Boston has now won three straight games and will need Horford to keep up this motor as the Celtics enter the postseason as the fourth or fifth seed in the conference.