The Golden State Warriors fell well short in their first game back from the All-Star break on Thursday night, losing a 121-110 game to the Boston Celtics that saw the Eastern Conference team lead by as many as 34 points in the third quarter.

It was a reunion, of sorts, for two players on the Warriors, even amidst the debilitating loss. Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford were teammates for a couple of years on the Celtics, winning the 2024 NBA Championship with Boston. The latter, in particular, has become one of the more celebrated Celtics of recent times.

Horford signed with the Warriors this offseason, partly due to the direction the Celtics looked to be going with Jayson Tatum sidelined with his Achilles injury.

Thursday's game was the first time Horford and the Warriors had faced off against the Celtics since his departure, and the veteran described how it felt to match up with his former teammates.

"It's definitely a weird feeling going through that. And then, it was nice to see a lot of the guys. We talked before, and getting to see the coaches and the staff and that part, but then once the game got going, it was all business and trying to do our best there."

Horford also discussed how he interacted with Porzingis in the Latvian's debut and reacted to his performance.

"I was encouraging him about getting to his spots, being aggressive when he could. He can score the ball, we know that. He'll continue to progress and get his legs more underneath him and be able to play some more. Then, we'll see the real KP, but I think for a first game, after being out for so long, I think he did a really good job."

Horford has had a long, storied career dating back to his college basketball days at Florida, but really made his mark in the NBA as an individual player with the Atlanta Hawks and as a fantastic team player with the Celtics. 

Horford was a 4-time All-Star in Atlanta, featuring as one of their stars in the early and mid-2010's, then took his talents to Boston, where he put up multiple seasons with Defensive Player of the Year votes and earned another All-Star appearance.

Of course, the biggest contribution was in his second stint with the Celtics, where he helped them win the 2024 championship as a valuable, versatile big man next to Kristaps Porzingis and the Celtics' stars, Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Currently, it's clear that Horford's age is catching up to him, as at 39 years old, he's having the worst season of his career, statistically, but he's still contributing to winning basketball, especially in recent games.

He's finally kicked the worst of the injury bug that plagued him for much of the early season and thoroughly improved his numbers. In January, Horford averaged 8.2 points on 37.7% shooting from three, and though he's slumping from three again in February, his point averages still remains at a season's best at 9.0 points per game. 

The Warriors need to get healthy soon, especially with Steph Curry and his lingering knee issue, but Horford will surely be a valuable presence for the team as the Warriors push towards the playoffs.