Celtics-Nuggets Notebook: no Nikola Jokic, Kristaps Porzingis has “big-time” game, and Denver is Celtics Nation

DENVER — “We were supposed to be 4-0, but second best was 3-1,” said Joe Mazzulla after the Celtics defeated the Nuggets 118-106 to close out a four-game road trip.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 29 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks, continuing a strong stretch of individual basketball.

Jrue Holiday had his highest-scoring game in over a month, recording 19 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.

And, Kristaps Porzingis finished with 25 points on 9-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, taking advantage of mismatch after mismatch.

The road trip was highlighted by a last-second win against the Timberwolves, a blowout of the Rockets, and a comfortable win against the Nuggets. And, of course, there was the second-half collapse against the Thunder that marked the only loss of the week.

Still, despite the ups and downs of the past month, with Tuesday’s win, the Celtics improve to 27-10 on the season — good for third-best in the NBA. (For reference, the Celtics had a 28-9 record through 37 games last season).

Here’s three things you need to know from on-the-ground in Denver.

Add Ball Arena to the list of NBA arenas taken over by Celtics fans

It was an inspiring effort for the Denver Nuggets, who hung around in this one for most of the night despite being without both Nikola Jokic (illness) and Aaron Gordon (calf strain). The Celtics jumped ahead to a 15-point first half lead, only to watch it wither away when the Nuggets outscored them by 12 in the second quarter, with Russell Westbrook (26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jamal Murray (19 points, 4 assists) leading the charge.

That’s the kind of shorthanded comeback run that would normally drown out an opposing team’s fanbase – but even during that stretch, the cheering of Celtics fans in attendance was audible.

As such, the game never felt like a true road game, with thousands of Celtics fans making their presence known each time their team scored. The same was the case in Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, Brooklyn, and several other cities the Celtics’ traveled to this season.

By the fourth quarter, the Celtics held a double-digit lead for good — and if you didn’t know any better, you might think that the game was being played in New England, not across the country in in Colorado.

The only stop on the Celtics road trip that felt like a true road game was Oklahoma City — in Denver, “Let’s Go Celtics” chants sporadically broke out throughout the game, even when the momentum was on the side of the Nuggets.

And, as the final buzzer sounded, the predominantly-green remaining crowd rose to their feet — nearly 2,000 miles away from TD Garden.

Kristaps Porzingis has his best game of the season

After missing four games with an ankle sprain, Porzingis played in the final three games of the Celtics four-game road trip and capped things off what with was likely his best performance of the season.

“I thought he was big-time tonight on both ends of the floor,” said Joe Mazzulla. “For this season, for the way the smalls are going on him, I thought it was the most physical that he’s been, and I thought that was the most intentional that we’ve been about not only getting him the ball, but getting into the paint versus smaller matchups. So we’ve just got to work through those.”

Porzingis, who has only played 20+ minutes in 10 games this season, put himself at 80-85% on the recovery timeline, noting that he still has to get into a better rhythm from a shooting standpoint.

“I felt good,” he said. “Obviously I have to play my way back into good shape. I know this is what everybody expects from me. This is what I showed last season, and now I’m just working my way back up. And honestly, tonight was, in my opinion, one of the first games that I felt like I’m getting close to feeling healthy, feeling good, and getting back into good shape.”

Jayson Tatum credited Porzingis for helping power a 15-0 fourth quarter run that effectively put the game out of reach.

“Just the force he played with on the offensive end – drawing fouls, attacking the mismatches, getting offensive rebounds, getting a couple of putback dunks – the way he played tonight was much-needed.”

Porzingis has dealt with a myriad of lower leg injuries this season, including a heel strain and multiple ankle sprains, but appears to be the healthiest he’s been all year.

Needless to say, being in-and-out of the lineup has been frustrating.

“It always gets me a little bit, you know? Obviously, I’m human, and I want to play and it’s tough coming back from injury,” Porzingis said. “You’re not in perfect shape, and you expect a lot from yourself. You’re working through it, of course. But, fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve been in those situations, so I know how to bounce back and try to get in a rhythm quickly.”

Celtics were eager for redemption after OKC loss — Jokic or no Jokic

Over the past few seasons, there’s been a trend where when opposing teams’ best players sit, the Celtics struggle. A notable example was last year when the Lakers came to town and sat LeBron James and Anthony Davis — but still came away with a double-digit win.

Tonight — with the game tied at the half and the Nuggets without both Jokic and Aaron Gordon — it seemed things might be headed toward another letdown finish.

“Obviously, they’re not better without him,” Tatum said of Jokic. “But some of those one-off games where the team’s best player is out, we’ve lost some of those games before.”

But, Porzingis said that the Celtics were not overlooking Joki.

“I think it was burning inside of us a little bit, that last game — how we played offensively. So we wanted to come back with this game,with high focus and high execution and doing things well,” Porzingis said.

Before the game, Joe Mazzulla discussed how to get ahead of a potential letdown effort.

“How can you be proactive?” he said. “I think it comes down to just having an understanding of what they look like when he’s not available. You got Murray, you got Porter. Those two guys are two top-notch guys that can impact the game. But, it’s really just everybody. It’s just really attention to detail — to what their personnel is, how we can impact the game defensively and what it looks like on the offensive end.”

It may not have been the perfect 48-minute effort — but it was ultimately enough to end a challenging roadtrip with a victory.