Dominican Republic National Leads Atlanta Hawks To Victory

Dominican Republic-born NBA basketball star, Al Horford

News Americas, ATLANTA, GA, Thurs. May 14, 2015: Dominican Republic-born NBA basketball star, Al Horford put a dagger in the Washington Wizards Wednesday night as he led the Atlanta  Hawks to a win.

Horford, the Hawks center, scored 23 points on 10 of 18 shooting from the field last night to help  Atlanta to an 82-81 win over the Wizards in Game 5 of the 2015 Eastern Conference semifinals.

Horford grabbed a missed shot with three seconds left and put it back up and in to give Atlanta the lead with one second left in the game. Washington’s final shot went begging, giving the Hawk the 3-2 lead in the series.

Horford also pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked six shots in the game.

The win gives the Hawks a 3-2 series advantage.

Horford was born in the city of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic.  Horford’s father Tito Horford dad was a Bahamian immigrant. Horford says his passion for the game developed as a young boy when he watched his father play in the NBA for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Washington Wizards.

After being drafted third overall in the 2007 NBA draft, Horford signed a four-year, $17.53 million rookie-scale contract with the Atlanta Hawkson July 9, 2007. On November 2, 2010, Horford signed a five-year, $60 million rookie-scale extension with the Hawks. His contract expires at the end of the 2015–16 NBA season.