Celtics’ Al Horford reacts to blocking shot into son Ean’s lap during win over Hawks

When Al Horford blocks a shot into the crowd, occasionally the Celtics big man will follow it in case he can save it. But he certainly wasn’t expecting what happened when he made a block late in Sunday’s win over the Hawks.

With less than three minutes left in the fourth quarter, Horford swatted Trae Young’s layup attempt with his left hand into the first row of the stands under the basket. The ball landed, by a wild chance, in his son Ean’s lap.

“When I looked, I saw that it was him,” Horford said on Tuesday.

Al Horford on his blocked shot that went to his son in the first row during Sunday’s win: “It was a cool moment. He was a little surprised, needless to say, but that was a cool moment.” pic.twitter.com/v1jwwPlzBj

— Steve Hewitt (@steve_hewitt) November 28, 2023

Horford immediately rushed over to make sure his son was OK before returning to the court. For a moment, he went into dad mode.

“It kind of takes you off everything,” Horford said. “It definitely shifts your mind. You look at him and make sure he’s OK. But you definitely kind of lose sight of kind of where you’re at. So it was pretty cool. He was pretty excited about it after. …

“It was a cool moment. He was a little surprised, needless to say. But that was a cool moment.”

Ean, who is 8 years old, has started to become a regular attendee of Celtics games over recent seasons. Horford has brought him to press conferences, and he’s regularly been hanging out in the locker room. Horford has loved having him around as the two have formed special memories like Sunday together.

“I think it’s great,” Horford said. “He loves the game of basketball and for me to be able to have him be in these positions, I think it’s pretty special and something that he’ll remember. I feel like it will make a difference for him down the line if he decides to want to keep playing.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/eWy3N9G