BOSTON, MA — Boston Celtics center Al Horford has seen a few things in his 17 seasons in the NBA. He's never seen anything quite like the TD Garden crowd, though. On Wednesday night in front of frenzied Celtics fans, the veteran center recorded 22 points and 15 rebounds en route to a 113-98 win in Game 5 versus the Cleveland Cavaliers. This double-digit victory concluded the series and punched Boston's ticket to its fourth Eastern Conference Finals in five years.

The 37-year-old had been slumping coming into Game 5, yet his effort propelled the C's early on and his shots began to fall. After going an abysmal 4-for-22 from 3-point land in Games 1 through 4, Horford shot 6-for-13 from deep on Wednesday evening. Those six 3-points tied a career-high for the battle-tested big.

During his postgame media availability, Horford gave the Boston faithful a lot of credit for his terrific performance:

“It's special. It's special at the Garden. This is something I don't take for granted,” he said. “The energy of the fans. Our fans, they love the Celtics. They want us to play hard. They want us to play the right way. And, I just felt very connected with them tonight. The way that we were playing, that we got it going, I felt like there was a connection there, and there was just a few times that I wanted to be embraced by them in those moments. That fuels me, that fuels our team. So, it was pretty, pretty special tonight.”

To start the game, Boston wasn't giving its fans a ton to cheer about. The banged-up Cavs, who were without Donovan Mitchell, Jarrett Allen, and Caris LeVert, were hanging around with the Celtics and down just six points at halftime.

Due to turnovers and a failure to string a run together, Boston's largest lead in the first half was only seven points. The TD Garden loyalists have seen their teams struggle at home before, especially in the playoffs, so it was clear that there was some uneasiness in the building.

Al Horford helped quell those fears. He crashed the boards, fought to keep plays alive, and even flung the basketball off of defenders to maintain possession:

What other Celtics had to say about Horford's performance

Boston Celtics center Al Horford (42) blocks the shot of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) in the second quarter during game five of the second round for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Al Horford's hard work didn't go unnoticed. The Celtics crowd roared whenever he made a high-effort play and star teammate Jayson Tatum was all for it.

“The one play in particular when he saved the ball out of bounds, the last two minutes of the second quarter, it just gave us that extra possession, it pumped the crowd up, pumped our team up,” Tatum said during his postgame presser. “Those plays—that was so meaningful. Just how he played in the second half on the defensive end, he knocked down big shots time and time again. His performance, his energy, his leadership tonight was crucial.”

Related Boston Celtics NewsArticle continues below
Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) shoots a free throw during the first half against the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden.
Ranking 3 best Kristaps Porzingis trade destinations if Celtics move on
Boston Celtics’ 3 best options for No. 28 pick in 2025 NBA Draft
Boston Celtics’ 3 best options for No. 28 pick in 2025 NBA Draft

Earlier in the series, Mitchell was cashing step-back triples over Horford and guard Darius Garland sped by him on more than one occasion. Game 5 was a different story, as the big man had three blocks and was eliminating shots around the rim.

What's more, he absolutely owned the boards during Boston's series-clinching win. His seven offensive rebounds surpassed the six offensive rebounds Cleveland had altogether. From their offensive rebounding, the Celtics generated 12 second-chance points to the Cavs' five.

Underdogs often need extra possessions for more scoring opportunities and a better shot at upsetting their opponents. However, Horford didn't allow that for nearly the entirety of the second-round series.

“Tonight you saw his gift. His gift is just passion, inspiration, toughness, competitive nature,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said of Horford's stellar showing. “And obviously, those games are tough, right? Where the other team is fighting for their lives, and you're trying to play as hard as you can. You don't want to make mistakes, whatever the case may be. But just that's who Al is as a person. You saw his personality. So, I thought he was tremendous. I thought that he started it for us, and all the guys responded well. So, grateful for Al.”

While Horford is no longer the top dog on the C's, the rest of his teammates still look to him as a role model. Tatum recognized how important the vet is to the Celtics and his own growth:

“Al is like a brother to me,” Tatum said admiringly. “Somebody I love dearly and had the pleasure of being his teammate for six out of my seven years. I give Al a lot of credit, how he’s transitioned and adapted his game to still play a major role and have a huge impact. I’ve watched Al, how professional he is, how he carries himself, how he takes care of his body. I’ve stolen a lot of things from Al throughout my career of just having a routine every single day, knowing whether it's game day, practice day or an off day, having a plan of ‘what are you going to do to get better today?' Whether it’s lifting weights, getting on the bike, or recovery.”

In the wake of Horford's huge outing, Boston will wait for its next opponent.

The New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers will meet the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. After walloping the Pacers 121-91 at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks lead the series 3-2. Game 6 will be in Indiana though, where the Pacers will hope to even things up on Friday night.

Regardless of who moves on, the Celtics will rest in the meantime and prepare for an action-packed showdown in the Eastern Conference.