In his 30th minute of action, the most he’s played all season, Al Horford was locked in on the impending inbounds play, sitting in wait on the potential actions coming his way. Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul lofted the ball in from the sideline and Horford jumped the pass, snagging it and pushing ahead up floor to dribble out the final four seconds of the Thunder’s daring 102-97 road victory, closing out a five-game west coast road swing with a strong step forward in performance.
The last time Horford played was exactly two weeks prior to Wednesday night’s win over the Suns. He missed six-straight games since January 13th as he remained in Oklahoma City with his wife and children as the Horford family welcomed in their fourth child – a daughter named Nova.
In between all the diaper changes, late night wake ups and the tending to his wife and other kids, Horford carved out time to stay committed to his craft and ensured he’d be sharp when he returned to the floor. He worked in the weight room, did cardio and then got on the floor to keep his shooting form crisp as he eventually got closer to re-joining the team from their spree along the Pacific coast.
“I continued to work,” said Horford after the game on Fox Sports Oklahoma. “I felt very comfortable out here tonight, so all the work we put in paid off.”
“I really just tried to make the most out of that time there,” Horford added. “That was very beneficial to me the way the organization set everything up for me while I was away from the team and allowed me to come in and get all the work done that I needed to get done so that I stayed sharp.”
As the Thunder started making its way back towards Oklahoma with a final stop-off in Phoenix to complete the five-game swing, it was the perfect time for Horford to rejoin the group. Without missing a beat, Horford got the Thunder on the board with its first points of the game with a top-of-the-key 3-pointer, one of a season-high and career-high-tying five-made 3-pointers in the game.
It wasn’t just his 3-point stroke that Horford kept in form back in Oklahoma City. Throughout the night he provided a punch at different spots from the floor, making a midrange jumper, scoring on a hook shot and then on a fadeaway baseline jumper. That versatility on offense not only keeps defenses unsure of what he personally will do next, but Horford also opens things up for teammates with that unpredictability.
“It’s hard for teams to guard us,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a multi-time beneficiary of Horford’s picks throughout the game. “A couple times I came off the ball screen and the big didn’t know whether to guard me or guard Al on his pop and I was able to get a layup. That’s one of the many things he brings to this offense.”
Horford finished with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including a perfect mark from behind the three-point line while adding 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. The majority of those rebounds came on the defensive side, where Horford held down the paint against former number one overall pick DeAndre Ayton. Pushing the Suns center’s catches out further, cutting off angles to the rim and limiting second chances, Horford and his Thunder teammates held Ayton to just 5 points on 2-of-7 shooting.
“Just making sure we’re solid, making sure we made (Ayton) earn everything he got,” the 6-foot-9 Horford said, explaining the tactic used on the 6-foot-11, 250-pound 22-year-old. “The team as a whole did a good job being very aware of him, getting him off his spots and playing together.”
“We were just trying to be physical with (Ayton),” Daigneault noted. “He’s a really good rebounder. He’s a really good post player. He’s a guy you can’t be second to contact with.”
Horford, a five-time All-Star and a candidate again this year, is in his 15th NBA season, so he’s seen about every type of post player that has come through the league over the last decade and a half and knows how to adapt in defending them. He knows how to watch opposition film and scout his impending matchups to put himself in position to succeed.
All of that may have meant nothing, however, if he hadn’t maximized the precious time he could spare back in Oklahoma City. In addition to being a supportive husband and father, Horford personified what it means to be an excellent teammate and member of the Thunder organization by understanding himself and what it takes to get to his top level of performance, then prepared himself diligently to do so.
“The professionalism to keep yourself ready and know what you need and to be ruthlessly consistent with that process – that's what we're trying to teach as a program and that's what we're trying to develop across the roster,” said Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault. “That's something that's a learned skill. It's not something that you walk into the NBA with, you have to learn how to manage the schedule, you have to learn how to take care of yourself and you have to learn what you need.”
“Al, he's impressive in that way,” Daigneault continued. "We had resources back there for him but he knows exactly what he needs and he did, obviously, an unbelievable job of keeping himself ready. That was the expectation. We wouldn't have expected anything different out of him and I thought his play tonight was obviously indicative of that.”
After the win, the Thunder hopped on a flight back to Oklahoma City. As he walked off the floor, a big smile ran across Horford’s face. It was a quick trip away from his wife and kids, and there will be more road games away from the family to come. But this one in Phoenix was extra sweet because the effort that went into the build-up was rewarded by a prideful performance as he came through for the Thunder alongside his teammates.
“I really wanted to come out here and be with the guys,” Horford said. “I’m just happy to be back tonight and to be able to come out here and compete and get this win.”