BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Nuggets 118 -- Who needs defense? taken at TD Garden (Celtics)

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Celtics

BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Nuggets 118 -- Who needs defense?

By Brian Robb

Dec 13, 2017 • 10:31 pm

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Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 124-118 win over the Nuggets in quickie form.

HEADLINES

Best shooting night of the year: After posting a season-low 85 points on Monday night in Chicago, the Celtics responded with their best offensive outing of the year. Despite missing Al Horford (rest) and Marcus Morris (knee), the hosts shot a season-best 59.5 percent from the field and scored a season-high 124 points in a shootout with the high-scoring Nuggets. Kyrie Irving (33 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) led the charge for Boston’s efficient offense and overcame a career-high 36 points from Gary Harris.

Defense optional: Both head coaches might have some nightmares after watching film from this one. The Nuggets didn’t shoot it as well as the Celtics (49 percent), but they managed to grab 20 offensive rebounds, which produced 15 second-chance points. They also scored 58 points in the paint, the vast majority of which came on open layups and dunks. Horford’s absence hurt and the Nuggets can score with the best of them (7th in NBA), but this wasn’t a promising follow up performance.   

TURNING POINT

The Celtics seized control of a 97-94 game early in the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run thanks to the bench unit. Shane Larkin and Daniel Theis combined for seven points in that stretch that helped the hosts create a double-digit lead down the stretch. The outburst provided the necessary cushion to close out the win over the game’s final six minutes.

TWO UP

Jaylen Brown: The 21-year-old is quietly putting together a pretty terrific month of December, shooting over 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range. He took advantage of an inept Nuggets defense to score 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, scoring from all corners of the floor.




Shane Larkin:
The veteran point guard doesn’t shoot the ball well much, but when he does, they sure come in bunches. He ran circles around the Nuggets guard on Wednesday night, feasting on a mix of open jumpers and layups to score 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting in just 17 minutes. That total was just two points short of his season-high of 16 against the Hornets last month.




TWO DOWN


Semi Ojeleye’s jumpshot:
The 3-and-D rookie is giving the Celtics plenty of defense (he shut down Trey Lyles well in his 26 minutes) but he’s still struggling with the outside jumper. He went scoreless on Wednesday night and missed all three attempts from 3-point range, which dropped his 3-point shooting percentage on the year to 27 percent.
 


Defensive rebounding:  
The Nuggets grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, a season-high for a Celtics opponent by four boards. The C’s went small a lot without Horford in the lineup but they were outhustled for the majority of the night for loose balls, with no one on the team grabbing more than six rebounds.


TOP PLAY




TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER


Al Horford really ties the defense together:
The Celtics really looked lost tonight on this end without their defensive quarterback. Whether it’s calling out coverages in the pick-and-roll or recovering to contest shooters on the perimeter, Horford’s value was shown on the defensive end tonight, similar to how Irving’s value was shown in Monday’s season-worst offensive performance without him. 


Jayson Tatum is going to be a hell of a weapon as a small-ball power forward:
The 19-year-old isn’t a starting power forward just yet, but he showed just exactly how much of a force he will be down the line in that spot against the Nuggets. With 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, he punished closeouts on the perimeter all night with smooth trips to the basket. It’s only a matter of time before he’s punishing opposing stretch bigs on a regular basis with these moves from the 4 spot.

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