Robb: Al Horford Gets Best of DeMarcus Cousins With Record Performance

BOSTON -- Entering Friday's game against the Sacramento Kings, most of the attention for Celtics fans was fixed on the presence of opposing center DeMarcus Cousins. The 26-year-old's name has consistently been thrown around in trade rumors over the last couple seasons and those whispers are growing louder now as the Kings continue to struggle.

So while the Celtics organization and fan base remain on the hunt for a star of Cousins' ilk, they got a healthy reminder of the big man gem they already have in place during Friday's 98-93 win. For one night it was clear that Al Horford, not Cousins, was the best big man on the floor.

The 6-foot-10 off season addition scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting while also filling up the box score across the board with eight rebounds, six blocks, three assists and 2 steals in a season-high 36 minutes. Horford's six blocks helped put him in the NBA lead in the blocks per game category (2.9 per game). The overall stat line of six blocks, four 3-point shots and a pair of free throws was quite the rarity according to C's play-by-play Sean Grande.

Horford's biggest block came with under 10 seconds remaining in the contest with the Celtics leading by just three. Out of a timeout, the Kings in-bounded the ball to Cousins above the arc and Horford managed to rip the ball away from the big man as he attempted to hoist up the game-tying shot, sealing the win for Boston.

"Not let him get a three. That was the whole thing," Horford said of the sequence. "I know he tried to draw something there, but I just stayed solid and didn't let him get a shot off."

Staying solid is something that Horford continues to be for Boston as the team improved to a 6-3 mark with him in the lineup. The impressive two-way play has given him the best net rating (+11.5) on the Celtics roster, a mark that isn't a surprise to head Brad Stevens.

"He was terrific in our series versus Atlanta [last year]. Terrific," Stevens said of Horford's impact. "And so, we played him 10 times last year. I think I'm an idiot, but after 10 times I had at least an idea. He's all over the place and he covers a lot of ground. He calls out calls and I think he's a competitive guy. And that's proof in his winning track record."

While Horford's biggest impact came on the defensive end Friday night, the Celtics made an effort to get him the ball more after just five shot attempts on Wednesday against the Pistons.

"As long as I'm being put in those positions, I'll continue to take what the defense gives me," Horford said of his 18 shot attempts, a season high. "That's the way that I've always played. But I get what you're saying. And one of the things is for me to get comfortable with the offense, what we're trying to do, and knowing when to pass the ball and when to shoot it."

"He's a feel-the-game type of player," teammate Jae Crowder added. "He always has been. He's not been a just throw the ball down in there and let him go to work. He just feels the game and he plays the game the right way. So we as a unit try to play the proper way on the offensive end, and that's just move the ball and find the right shot. Early we were moving the ball very well. A lot of guys were touching it and he was open for the shots."

For a player with a team-best 53.3 percent shooting percentage, finding Horford early and often in the offense should continue to be one of the team's best winning formulas as the schedule toughens up in the coming weeks.

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