Horford's buzzer beater takes Celtics past Blazers
AL Horford rattled in a fadeaway jumper as the buzzer sounded to lift the Boston Celtics to a 97-96 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
“It’s a shot I work on a lot and it felt good when it left my hands,” Horford said.
Horford, Semi Ojeleye and Jayson Tatum scored consecutive 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter as the Celtics took the lead with an 11-0 scoring run after trailing 79-85.
Horford said teammate Jaylen Brown was supposed to take the last shot but he was covered. “That shot epitomizes the work he puts in,” Brown said of Horford. “He embraces those opportunities and steps up to the challenge.”
Horford finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds for Boston, which won its fourth game in a row. Tatum had 17 points and Brown scored 16 for the Celtics in front of a crowd of 18,600 at the TD Garden arena in Boston.
Terry Rozier, starting in place of injured guard Kyrie Irving, had 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting.
Damian Lillard scored the final eight points for the Blazers, including a 3-point play with seven seconds left to give them the lead 96-95.
Lillard finished with 21 points shooting 6-of-19 from the field. CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 22 points.
Elsewhere in the NBA, it was: Bucks 109, Nets 94; Raptors 101, Grizzlies 86; Lakers 108, Thunder 104; Hawks 99, Knicks 96; and Hornets 115, Suns 110.