The Denver Nuggets suffered another loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics tonight 124-104. Denver has now lost five in a row to Boston, and they have also lost four of their last six games. This was a blowout for the majority of the game as Michael Malone started the entire bench unit to start the second half. Both Boston stars Tatum and Brown showed out tonight. They both had 30 points. Brown had 30 on 12-19 shooting, and Tatum shot 11-17 from the field and 6-10 from three. Jokic was the high scorer for Denver with 23 points, but he shot 8-23 overall.
Tonight is a very tough loss because now Minnesota surpasses them for the 6th spot in the West. Denver will face two difficult opponents up next. They host the Clippers and the Suns which will be crucial for Denver to regain their position in the playoffs. Their next game is Tuesday against the Clippers at 8:00 PM MT.
1st Quarter
- Jaylen Brown kicked off the game with a side step three and Barton replied with a driving layup. After a Jeff Green corner three, Robert Williams III received two consecutive lobs for an early 9-5 Celtic lead
- Three Jokic free throws and a Morris floater cut the lead to one until Tatum responded with a mid-range fadeaway. Out of a timeout, Nikola Jokic nailed a mid-range jumper and added a three on the next possession for a 15-13 Nugget advantage
- Brown tied it up at 15 with a fall-away mid-range, but Morris quickly responded with an and-one scoop layup. After Marcus Smart knocked in a three, Jokic converted a three-point play, but Derrick White answered with a driving layup
- Brown regained the lead for the Celtics with an and-one layup, and Daniel Theis followed with a 20-foot jumper. Davon Reed got the Nuggets within one with a mid-range jumper, but Theis answered again with a corner three
- DeMarcus Cousins then drilled a three from the top of the arc, but the Celtics countered with a Theis lob dunk and a Tatum triple
Score: 33-27 Celtics
Scoring leaders: Jokic - 12, Brown - 8
2nd Quarter
- Boston started the quarter with two Grant Williams free throws and a dunk for a 37-30 lead. Boogie then scored a layup, but Pritchard responded with a three
- After about a minute of scoreless basketball, a Bones technical free throw and a JaMychal corner three cut the lead to four, 40-36. White then circled home a mid-range jumper
- Barton swished a three to decrease the lead to five, but Boston answered with six points in a row. Brown added to the scoring run with a driving layup and Tatum followed with a three to grow their lead to 56-39
- Boston continued their hot shooting with a Pritchard three. Boston had a 19-3 scoring run as the Nuggets missed nine straight shots. Jokic finally ended the scoring drought with a layup, but Tatum answered with two straight threes
- Pritchard knocked in another thee to extend their scoring run to 28-7 as they grabbed a 68-41 lead, and then Jokic ended the quarter with a layup
Score: 68-43 Celtics
Scoring leaders: Jokic - 16, Tatum - 16
3rd Quarter
- Brown initiated the quarter with a mid-range jumper, but the Nuggets responded with five Hyland points and a JaMychal layup to decrease the lead to 20.
- Smart then made a floater and Brown a layup, but the Nuggets countered with two Boogie free throws and a Rivers triple. Williams III caught his third lob dunk of the night and two Tatum free throws would extend their lead to 78-55
- Bones Hyland sank a step-back three, and then Brown threw down a one-handed slam a couple of possessions later. After one of two free throws from Boogie, Brown nailed a three to extend their lead 83-59
- Rivers would respond with a step-back three, but Boston answered with a Tatum floater, a Horford three, and a Brown mid-range jumper
- After over a minute of scoreless basketball, Jokic drilled a three, but Boston responded with a Horford triple. Aaron Gordon scored his first points of the night with a three to get Denver within 24, but Brown converted two free ones from the line
- Monte Morris assisted a Jokic layup and Gordon made one of two free throws the following possession, but Brown answered with a three, and then Barton ended the quarter with a corner three
Score: 98-75 Celtics
Scoring leaders: Brown - 28, Jokic - 21
4th Quarter
- Gordon began the quarter with a three-point play, but Tatum scored a layup on the other end. Uncle Jeff threw down a poster jam, and Morris converted a layup in transition to decrease the lead 100-82
- Gordon’s two free throws continued the momentum for Denver, but it was short-lived as Brown attacked the rim for a layup. After forcing a Boston turnover, Gordon scored a dunk in transition to put the score at 102-86
- Williams secured an offensive rebound and put it back, and then Gordon matched it with two free throws. At the other end, Tatum knocked in another three and threw down a one-handed slam the next possession
- The score was 109-88 until Jokic dropped in a hook shot. Then Williams and Tatum both nailed threes
- Both benches emptied out near the 5:00 mark in the quarter. Reed and Cousins scored both scored baskets, but Pritchard responded with another three for the dagger
- Markus Howard then made two straight threes to end the game
Score: 124-104
Stat leaders
Points: Tatum/Brown - 30
Rebounds: Williams III - 9
Assists: Tatum/Smart - 7
Silent hero of the game: Robert Williams III - 8 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks on 4-4 shooting and a game-high plus/minus of +36