Al Horford’s Stepback Buzzer-Beater Gave Boston A Win Over Portland

The NBA knows better than to try and counter program the Super Bowl, so the early afternoon on first Sunday in February is always filled with hoops action prior to clearing the runway for the NFL to take the stage in the evening.

This Sunday, the Blazers and Celtics tipped off at noon in Boston and while both teams seemed understandably sluggish to start the game they finished with quite the flurry of action. With the game tied at 93-93 and under 30 seconds to play, Terry Rozier gave Boston a two-point advantage with a nasty stepback jumper over Al-Farouq Aminu after getting him in isolation on a switch.

Unsurprisingly, Portland countered by giving the ball to Damian Lillard and letting their All-Star point guard cook in a clutch situation, as he’s grown accustomed to doing. Lillard crossed over to his left to jump underneath the hedging Al Horford on a screen and then darted to the rim for the and-1 finish through contact from Semi Ojeleye to put Portland on top by one.

With Kyrie Irving still out with a quad injury, the Celtics put the ball in their other All-Star’s hands for the final shot and Horford did not disappoint. The All-Star center took the inbounds pass at the elbow and drove right before pulling it back for a turnaround stepback jumper to win it at the buzzer.

The win improved the Celtics to 39-15 on the season as they’ve won four in a row since dropping a heartbreaker to the Warriors in Oakland. Horford’s 22 points, 10 rebounds and five assists led the way, while their young wing duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum combined for 33 points as they continue to forge ahead as the East’s top team even in Irving’s absence.