The Celtics lose back-to-back games for the first time since November after falling to the defending champions, 115-109, at Ball Arena. Denver led the Celtics for almost the entirety of the ball game, though the Celtics had the chance to take the lead with 40 seconds to play when a Jayson Tatum three-pointer fell short.
It was a playoff-like atmosphere from the jump, with the Nuggets and Celtics both looking to avoid losing two in a row after each dropped a tough match-up on Tuesday night.
From the start, it was the Jaylen Brown show for Boston – Brown had 22 points and 8 rebounds in the first half, and ended the night with season-high 41 points (16-29 FG) to go along with 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals. He struggled from the free throw line, however, making just 7 of 14 attempts, and the Celtics as a team shot just 16-25 from the stripe.
For Denver, Nikola Jokic commanded the game from start to finish – he ended the night with 32 points, 11 assists, and 12 rebounds, and the Celtics were never able to find an answer for him defensively.
Kristaps Porzingis struggled to contain the two-time MVP, while Aaron Gordon added 16 points (8-15 FG) and 9 rebounds, and made several key plays down the stretch. Jamal Murray scored 19 points on 7-18 shooting, but also turned it over 5 times.
For Boston, outside of Brown, most of the team had relatively inefficient performances; Kristaps Porzingis scored 24 points on 9-23 FG, but missed several midrange attempts that are usually automatic.
Jayson Tatum had a quiet night; he finished with 15 points (5-13 FG) and 8 assists, but also had 5 turnovers.
“I thought he was just taking what the defense gave him,” Joe Mazzulla said of Tatum’s performance after the game. “Jaylen had a tremendous game.”
Derrick White had just 7 points on 3-8 attempts, and the Celtics bench combined for just 10 points — 6 for Sam Hauser, 2 for Payton Pritchard, and 2 for Al Horford.
The Celtics trailed by 2 after one, 8 at the half, and 10 going into the final period – a rare game that they spent almost the entirety of behind. In the fourth quarter, they had multiple opportunities to cut the deficit, but were never able to get over the hump. Back-to-back three-pointers by Jrue Holiday cut it to two with a minute to play — he finished the night with 12 points.
The Celtics had the chance to take the lead after Jaylen Brown stole the ball from Jamal Murray with 50 seconds to play — but a wide-open corner three from Jayson Tatum fell short. Then, a Nikola Jokic — Aaron Gordon alley-oop cut put the Nuggets ahead for good.
It was an emotional game on both sides; four technicals were issued on the night – one on Jaylen Brown in the first quarter, one on Kristaps Porzingis in the second, and two on the Nuggets in the fourth quarter.
While the Celtics fell short of a fourth-quarter come-back, Mazzulla said postgame he liked Tatum’s look down the stretch and noted the fact that Boston had 13 offensive rebounds.
“I feel good about where we’re at and what we need to work on,” Mazzulla said.
With the loss, the Celtics fall to 0-2 on the road trip. They’ll have a chance to get back in the win column on Saturday night in Phoenix.
