Credit where it's due to Giannis Antetokounmpo, who managed to bring out a rare side of Al Horford on Monday night in Milwaukee.
Horford is usually mild-mannered and doesn't let his emotions spill over on the court. But when Antetokounmpo dunked on Horford and stared the Celtics veteran down in Game 4 of Boston's Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Bucks, those mild manners changed.
"I donât know what he said to me, but the way he was looking at me and the way he was going about it really didnât sit well with me," Horford said after the game.
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Forsberg: 'The Al Horford Game' earns spot in Celtics lore
Horford used the third-quarter moment as motivation, going off for 16 points in the fourth quarter -- including a vicious revenge dunk on Antetokounmpo -- to finish with a playoff-career-high 30 points in the Celtics' come-from-behind victory.
Horford's outburst didn't surprise his sister, Anna Horford, who shared some great perspective after watching her brother react to Giannis' staredown.
During a guest appearance on ESPN's "NBA Today" on Tuesday, Horford was asked about her sister's tweet and what was going through his head the moment Antetokounmpo provoked him.
"She definitely knows me over the years playing family board games and stuff like that," Horford told host Malika Andrews. "That was one of those moments that, for whatever reason -- it was a good play that he made. I just thought it was a lot of extra stuff there.
"I didn't like it, and yeah, that just really got me going."
Exhibit A came early in the fourth quarter when Horford flushed on Giannis, caught the Bucks star with a stray elbow and celebrated with a primal scream.
"At that point, just a lot of emotions," Horford told Andrews. "And like you said, I'm normally not the type of guy that's letting things out, but it was that part of the game that I just -- it was building up. It was happening, and I just wanted to get my guys fired up, and the team responded well to that."
Horford's teammates all sang his praises after his historic performance, with Marcus Smart calling the 35-year-old the "best veteran I've ever had" and Jayson Tatum calling himself "very lucky" to be on Horford's side.
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Horford's inspired performance clearly rubbed off on his fellow Celtics, and the result was Boston regaining home-court advantage as the series shifts back to Boston for Game 5Â on Wednesday.