ATLANTA — The boos started during team introductions Friday night and hit a crescendo when Al Horford was honored with a video tribute between the first and second quarters by Atlanta’s game operations staff.
The idea was to honor the former nine-season Hawk for all of his contributions, but the crowd, clearly spurned by Horford’s decision last summer to sign with the Celtics, was having none of it.
They booed when he touched the ball, and increased the pressure when, during the first Celtics possession, he went to the free throw line. He missed twice, though he later denied these former fans had invaded his concentration.
“No I just …” he said before catching himself. “I think it’s the first time I missed two free throws like that in a row all season. It was just very – I thought I had it good. But nah, I’m used to that.”
But on the way to a night that featured 10 points, two 3-pointers, six assists and six rebounds, Horford had to admit he didn’t expect to get this sandpaper treatment.
“They were unexpected,” he said of the boos. “I don’t want to say anything, but it is what it is. I know there’s a lot of fans out there that appreciated my time here, and I appreciate them.”
There was, after all, that video.
“That was pretty cool. That was cool,” he said. “That was a good video looking back on my career.”
His Celtics teammates, who dedicated the 103-101 win to him, weren’t as forgiving, though none of them have ever played for this particular fan base.
“You don’t boo a guy like that. You’re not turning down money like that,” said Isaiah Thomas, referring to the four-year, $113 million contract Horford signed with the Celtics. “None of them people booing are turning down that money. He went to a situation, thought it was maybe a little better. And like I said, a guy like that, with that type of character, you can’t boo. That’s disrespectful.”
• Celtics forward Jae Crowder was fined $25,000 by the NBA for an on-court postgame confrontation with Washington Wizards guard John Wall on Wednesday night.
Crowder also was fined for attempting to escalate the situation after exiting the playing court. Wall was fined $15,000 for his role in the confrontation on the court.
The Celtics won 117-108 at TD Garden.
SATURDAY’S GAMES
CLIPPERS 113, LAKERS 97: DeAndre Jordan scored 24 points on 12-of-13 shooting, and the Clippers shot 52 percent to cruise past the Lakers.
Jordan had 21 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 20 points and 13 assists for the Clippers.
The Clippers shot 52 percent and are 15-0 when they do so. Led by Jordan, they had a season-high 56 points in the paint.
Jordan Clarkson scored 21 points for the Lakers, who never led in losing their third in a row and seventh in 10 games.
Jordan’s shooting was nearly perfect; he tipped in his own miss with 4:41 remaining in the game for his lone miss.
The big man put on a dunk clinic with eight, including a two-handed jam on the game’s opening possession.
The Lakers, who shot 44 percent, never made a run in the fourth.
BULLS 107, PELICANS 99: Jimmy Butler scored 28 points in his return from flu, and Dwyane Wade had 17 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter in Chicago’s win at home over the Pelicans.
After the Pelicans cut a 15-point second-half deficit to one point early in the fourth, Wade scored six straight points to push the advantage to 85-80.
Wade made it 89-82 with a 3-pointer, and spun off a defender to convert a three-point play for a 102-91 lead with 2:27 left.
Taj Gibson added 15 points and 16 rebounds to help the Bulls snap a three-game losing streak.
Anthony Davis had 36 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for New Orleans.
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