Celtics Veteran ‘Just Loves’ Competing Against 76ers' Hostile Crowd

Joel Embiid said years ago that the Philadelphia 76ers don’t have much of a rivalry with the Boston Celtics because the Cs, mostly, have gotten the best of the Sixers during the Embiid era in Philadelphia.

But you can’t convince Sixers fans that the rivalry doesn’t exist just because of the big man’s belief. With the Celtics in town this past Wednesday night, the Wells Fargo Center crowd was hostile for a mid-November matchup.

At the time, the Sixers were coming off of a loss to the Indiana Pacers, which snapped an eight-game victory run. Sixers fans not only wanted to see the Sixers bounce back and collect their ninth win of the year, but they wanted to see their team defeat the Celtics for the second time this season — especially since former Philly big man Al Horford collected just his third start of the year on Wednesday.

Before Horford’s forgettable one season in Philadelphia, he was something of a villain to the Philly fan base. Being a key contributor on a Celtics team that booted the Sixers from the playoffs in 2017, Horford didn’t feel any Brotherly Love when he played in South Philly.

Shockingly, he signed with the Sixers via free agency two summers later. After an underwhelming run with the Sixers, Horford was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a season. Two years after leaving the Celtics, he returned via trade. Since then, Hordord’s been a direct rival of the Sixers, and the dislike from Philly fans is higher than ever.

No hard feelings from the veteran big man, though. With Horford fully leaning into the villain role in Philadelphia, the veteran noted that he’s a fan of the constant trash talk from fans in South Philly, as it motivates him during the matchup.

“I just love it,” Horford said after Wednesday’s game, according to NBC Sports Boston. "When I hear that talking it gives you a little extra. I appreciate that.”

In his nine games leading up to Wednesday’s matchup, Horford averaged under five points per game and six rebounds. He was struggling from the field, knocking down just 38 percent of his shots and 23 percent of his threes. His showing on both ends of the floor questioned whether the 37-year-old’s age was finally showing.

Then, Horford received the extra ounce of motivation from Wednesday night’s circumstances, and he got back to his old ways.

Many described Horford’s performance against the Sixers as “vintage.” In a 28-minute shift, Horford put up nine shots from the field. Eight of his attempts were from beyond the arc. Horford knocked down 56 percent of his shots, drilling half of his threes. He collected a season-high 14 points and totaled eight rebounds.

Once again, Horford was praised for his defense on Joel Embiid, contributing to the Celtics’ ability to hold the MVP big man to a season-low 20 points in 33 minutes of action.

With a 117-107 win, Horford and the Celtics even the regular-season series against the Sixers to 1-1. Leaving South Philly for the final time during the regular season, Horford and the Celtics kissed Philly fans goodbye as they looked forward to having the home-court advantage for the next two games.