The Boston Celtics had cruised through their last five straight straight playoff series without falling behind in a series even once. The last time they had been trailing in a series was the 2023 Eastern Conference Championship. They got another taste of that on Monday night, however.
They lost Game 1 108-105 to the New York Knicks in overtime after having been up a whopping 20 points in the second half. They also set a new NBA playoff record with 45 missed three-pointers. They also had a player making individual history, however—and in a good way.
No Celtics player shot above 50 percent from the field, and that even included veteran Al Horford, who was just 2-for-6. However, he was great on the glass, nabbing seven rebounds, including three on the offensive boards. Perhaps serving as a silver lining, those seven boards helped Horford make NBA history despite the collapse and defeat.
Al Horford surpasses NBA legend in loss
Now in his 18th year in the league, Al Horford has been lucky enough to make the playoffs in 16 of those seasons. That means he's racked up a ton of playoff playing time and a ton of playoff stats. And he's starting to climb the all-time ladder.
What Horford has always done most consistently even through this, his age-38 season, is rebound. And with his sixth rebound of the night, Horford reached 1,535 playoff boards in his career, surpassing the great Kevin Garnett for No. 16 on the all-time list.
Congrats to @Al_Horford of the @celtics for moving up to 16th all-time in playoff rebounds! #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google pic.twitter.com/mXSVJATOwP
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025
Horford has 41 rebounds through six games in these playoffs, so just under seven a night. That means if the Celtics make it to the next round, he could very well jump another two spots on the all-time playoff rebounding list before this postseason is over.
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With his seventh rebound of the night, he's up to 1,536. That means he's now just 47 behind Charles Barkley, at 1,582, and 48 behind Scottie Pippen, at 1,583. Seven more contests at 7.0 rebounds per game would bring him to 1,584 and sole possession of the No. 14 spot all-time. Ahead of him after that are Hakeem Olajuwon, Dennis Rodman, and Larry Bird.
Al Horford also blocked a shot in Game 1, which gave him 239 in the playoffs for his career to tie Dr. J, Julius Erving, for 14th all-time on that list. He's now 10 behind Dwight Howard for 13th.
Horford will look to continue climbing when the Celtics and Knicks meet again for Game 2 on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
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