Al Horford missed what could have been a series-defining tip-in in the final moment of Saturday's controversial Game 3 clash between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately for the Celtics, Horford's tip-in was waived off after the referees deemed that time had expired before he released the shot.
Before anything else, here is the play in question that led to the Celtics suffering a razor-thin 103-101 loss:
A WILD ENDING TO GAME 3 🤯
Al Horford's tip-in comes just milliseconds too late and the Bucks escape with a win over the Celtics pic.twitter.com/LQgPxKM5hZ
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 7, 2022
The shot that was waived off was actually Horford's second attempt. He missed a one-handed tip-in that would have definitely counted. Before that, both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III missed their attempts, which just goes to show that the Celtics had their chances.
After the game, Horford admitted that he already knew that his shot wasn't going to count even before the referees reviewed the play:
Article Continues BelowAl Horford said on the final tip-in, he knew he was "a little late."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 7, 2022
This explains why Horford was not excited at all when he made that shot. He already determined that it was going to be waived off and that his team had just gone down 1-2 against the defending champs.
This series is far from over, though. Game 3 in Milwaukee is scheduled for Monday night in what is virtually a must-win game for the Celtics.
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