Final: Nuggets 115, Celtics 107 - Murray puts up career-high 48 points in comeback win

DENVER – Kyrie Irving (31 points, 13-of-17 FG) put on a show in the Mile High city on Monday night but it didn't hold a candle to the performance by Jamal Murray. The third-year Nuggets guard scorched the C's for a career-high 48 points, outdueling Irving while leading the hosts to a 115-107 win over the Green.

The Celtics led by as many as 18 points in the first quarter after a hot shooting start from the starting five, but the Nuggets quickly erased that deficit after outscoring Boston by 16 in the second quarter. From there, Murray seized control torching the C's for 25 second-half points on 9-of-14 shooting. When the Nuggets weren't scoring, they were grabbing second chance opportunities (15 offensive rebounds), which prevented the C's from keeping pace despite having a hot shooting night of their own (50 percent from the field).

Boston drops to 6-4 with the loss, their second straight defeat on their five-game road trip. The Nuggets have now won four straight overall and improve to a Western Conference best 10-1 on the year. 

Second quarter notes

• Stevens goes with an all-bench look to start the second quarter that lacks enough creators against a stout Nuggets defense. Denver takes advantage with a 7-0 run.


• Smaller Nuggets have had their way with driving past Marcus Morris on the defensive end, so he heads to the bench a bit earlier than usual tonight.


• Irving in a nice groove (4-of-5) to start the game with some nice defensive plays mixed in.


• Nuggets defense tightened up a lot as C’s offense begins to stall even with the starters getting back in o the game.


• Nuggets are one of worst 3-point shooting teams in league but have come out efficient from deep with looks created by Jokic (five assists).


• Second quarter morphed into Murray (23 points) vs. Irving (16 points) except Nuggets are starting to get some help from their role players. Harris chipped in with nine points while Brown had nine for the Celts


• No second chance opportunties at all for C’s in first half with one offensive rebound off 20 misses.


• Nuggets offense puts up a 34 spot as C’s have trouble containing Murray in the pick-and-roll.   

• C’s offense lighting up early, 19 points in first six minutes.


• Good mix of shots at the rim and in transition.


• Millsap trying to bully Jaylen Brown in the post with no success. Jaylen still missing midrange jumpers.


• Some nice defense by Kyrie on the perimeter, forcing a couple turnovers which led to transition buckets.


• Tough finish for Gordon Hayward off of an alley oop with the up and under.


• 10 straight point at one stage for Jamal Murray but he’s turned the ball over three times that have led to transition points.


• C’s attacking inside out to start the game, four of first 17 shots are jumpers.


• Punishing the slower Millsap with their small ball lineup, keeping Nuggets on their toes.


• Nine assists on 12 made baskets early, also four steals for C’s in first eight minutes.


• Stevens goes to second unit early and they are able to sustain the offense and good ball movement.


• Brown plays some time with the bench unit as the featured option there, while Semi Ojeleye gets a couple of minutes to give full bench five-man lineup after a DNP-CD on Saturday night.


• Starters combine for 27 of 34 first quarter, Murray scored 14 of 19 for the Nuggets.

• The prospect of playing in Denver against the second best team in the Western Conference is tough enough for the Celtics but the altitude advantage is very real for the hosts. However, Brad Stevens isn't going to let it be an excuse for his team entering the second-game of the road trip.  "I don’t talk about the altitude," Stevens said. "I mean, we’re here for one day. At the end of the day, you play, maybe you sub a minute earlier but these guys are elite athletes, they’re extremely well conditioned. We’ve never made a big deal of it when we come here."


• Al Horford attributes the Nuggets' strong start to the year largely due to the return of a healthy Paul Millsap to the lineup. "They've made a huge leap," he said. "One of the things is their guys have gotten better and having a guy like Paul (Millsap) there, I think that people probably don't talk about him enough, with the impact that he brings in that locker room and what he does for that group. I think that's the difference. This year they are doing great. The other guys have improved while Paul is healthy and they've gotten off to a good start."


• The Nuggets have the third best defense in the league to this point, turning around a unit that ranked 25th in the NBA last year. Brad Stevens attributes the improvement to a changed defensive scheme. "They’re extremely aggressive on pick-and-rolls, so Jokic and Plumlee are no longer back in pick-and-rolls, they’re way up," he said. "They’ve done a great job of doing what you have to do when you do that and that is really pulling in behind it with three guys helping. You’re not going to beat them on the first paint attack. If we try to shoot tough shots after the first paint attack, whether that’s a roll or a drive, then it’s going to be a long night. We’re going to have to do a great job of taking care of the ball, of moving the ball, of being tough with it, and finding a great shot. But they’re doing a really good job, they’re really pulled in, they’re really connected thus far through nine games and the early part of the season, they look really good."


• Jaylen Brown expects to play tonight but his right foot is still giving him trouble even after changing his shoes. "The orthotics kind of hurt," he explained. "They took the pressure off of where it was supposed to, but they added pressure to where it wasn’t supposed to, so it was kind of hurting my feet, but I’m gonna stay on top of it and go back to the other ones. Can’t play around with my feet. I’ll be alright for tonight."