Horford recorded three points (1-4 FG, 1-3 3Pt), five rebounds and one assist over 21 minutes during Thursday's 127-120 loss to the Mavericks.

The Celtics' veteran leader took a long, winding road to his first NBA title, and he's reaping the rewards of his patience.

Al Horford did play in the Celtics' earlier meeting against the Pelicans. He scored 11 points and pulled down seven rebounds ...

"The vision that I see here," as Horford described it at the time, included a cache of draft assets, one of which they had just used on Jaylen Brown, that could be flipped for championship-caliber ...