On a night where the Philadelphia 76ers really needed big games out of the other pieces on their talented roster, their highly-priced veteran poured in one of his biggest games of the season.
Missing three starters and on a long road losing skid of nine games, the Sixers needed a big game out of Al Horford and he delivered. The veteran poured in 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists and he hit two shots from deep along with some big defensive plays in a 125-108 road win over the Sacramento Kings.
The biggest number for Horford is that he was a plus-41 in 36:21 of playing time. The plus-41 ties Andre Iguodala in 2008 for the highest plus-minus for a Sixer since 2000.
“Defensively, to have any NBA game where you play plus-41–for those of you who pay attention to a statistic sheet–it’s kind of an unheard of number,” said coach Brett Brown. “He was that dominant. Not because he had 40 points, it’s just defensively, he was excellent and offensively, he was efficient so that equals a plus-41.”
Al Horford was a +41 tonight, along with 18p/8r/6a.
That +/- is Horford's career-high and it ties the highest +/- by a Sixer since 2000 (Andre Iguodala). pic.twitter.com/iMZZ86C0dB
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 6, 2020
It was a performance the Sixers desperately needed. He struggled a bit in the matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday and he–really the whole team–needed something to feel good about. This was the Al Horford the Sixers gave $109 million to in the offseason.
“Al from a holistic standpoint, he was our bell ringer,” Brown added. “He was excellent tonight (Thursday).”
The Sixers now must take this into their next matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. It’s another game the Sixers can win considering the season Golden State is having despite the return of Stephen Curry. [lawrence-related id=27206,27184,27176]