The Boston Celtics defeated the Denver Nuggets 118-106. Jayson Tatum led the way in scoring with 29 points, while Russell Westbrook had 26 points for Denver. This was a matchup between the two most recent NBA Champions, but both teams were missing starters. The Nuggets were without former MVP Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, and Spencer Jones. The Celtics were missing Derrick White and Jordan Walsh. The Boston Celtics improved to 27-10 and the Nuggets dropped to 20-15.
A Back and Forth First Half
Three-point shooting was the story of this game early on. The Celtics and Nuggets got off to hot shooting starts in the opening minutes. Kristaps Porzingis scored nine early Boston points and Porter Jr, Westbrook, and Murray all hit threes for Denver. There wasn’t much defense being played until a Jayson Tatum block led to a Porzingis alley-oop on the other end. As the three-point shooting cooled off, Tatum went to work attacking the basket. This helped the Boston Celtics build a double-digit lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 37-25. Porzingis had 15 points and Tatum had 11. Porter Jr. led the Nuggets with eight points.
The Boston Celtics extended their lead to 15 in the second quarter, but a scoring spurt from Julian Strawther brought the deficit back to single digits. Westbrook began to orchestrate the Denver offense as they went on a 13-2 run. With Tatum on the bench and Jaylen Brown having an off night, the Nuggets clawed back into the game. Jamal Murray also began to score, and Denver brought the deficit down to two. The Boston Celtics crumbled on offense and defense and surrendered their entire lead. At halftime, the game was tied 57-57.
The Denver Nuggets had all the momentum going into halftime tied after trailing by 15. Murray led the team with 15 points. Porter Jr. had 11 points, and Westbrook, Strawther, and Peyton Watson each had 10. The Nuggets outscored Boston 32-20 in the second quarter and were shooting 50% from three. For the Boston Celtics, Porzingis had 16 points and Tatum had 13, but Tatum was shooting 0-of-6 from three and Brown had an awful half. Brown scored just 2 points and shot 0-of-5.
In the second quarter, they got lazy on both ends of the floor and lost their lead because of it. The Celtics have blown leads multiple times already this season and blew this one before halftime.
The Boston Celtics Win
The Nuggets rode their momentum into the third quarter taking the lead. Porter Jr. got a posterizing dunk on Porzingis, and Denver looked to simply have more effort than Boston. Christian Braun was grabbing offensive rebounds over Porzingis and Al Horford. Still, Brown finally began to score, which helped the Boston Celtics take the lead back. Westbrook kept things close, scoring from three and attacking the basket. Three-pointers from Tatum and Hauser maintained the Celtics lead, but it was slim. Through three quarters, the Boston Celtics led 88-83.
In the fourth quarter, the Nuggets wasted no time tying the game with five straight points. Both teams went back and forth from there, with a three from Braun and a putback dunk from Porzingis. The Boston Celtics then went on a 12-0 run to build a 12-point lead with three-pointers from Holiday and Horford. With less than five minutes remaining, the Celtics led 105-93. Denver did not lay down, as an and-one from Westbrook made it an eight-point game.
Tatum and Murray traded buckets, and it was a 10-point game with two minutes to go. An assist to Holiday in transition, followed by a Holiday three-pointer put the game out of reach. Even if it was against a Nuggets team without Nikola Jokic, it was still an encouraging performance from Boston, winning despite their poor shooting to end their road trip on a high note. The Boston Celtics won 118-106.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 27-10 with the win, going 3-1 on their road trip. Tatum led the team with 29 points, finding ways to score despite shooting 1-of-9 from three. Porzingis had 25 points and Holiday had 19. Blowing a 15-point lead before halftime is not ideal, but the Celtics kept their composure down the stretch to get the win.
The Nuggets fell to 20-15 with the loss. Russell Westbrook had 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jamal Murray and Julian Strawther each had 19 points. Denver hosts the Clippers next, while the Boston Celtics return home.
