BSJ Game Report: Boston Celtics 108, Denver Nuggets 102 - Roll continues with elite stretch defense

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics' win over the Denver Nuggets, with BSJ insight and analysis:

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics didn’t shoot well, but they managed to stay close to the Nuggets through the first two quarters because they were able to force a lot of turnovers that were converted to Celtics points. The Celtics looked like they blew an opportunity when Denver went on a run with Nikola Jokic off the floor in the third, but they battled hard and closed the game strong, getting the necessary stops to hold on for their 7th straight win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

It's not just the bad teams anymore: They locked down a good team with the reigning MVP. This is a high-quality win for the Celtics. 

“It just shows our maturity,” Marcus Smart said. “A couple weeks ago, months ago, early on in the season, a game like this probably would have gotten away from us. We wouldn’t have responded the way we did. They had us down nine going into the half, came out, our ball, we scored. They came back, put it back up nine, and we just stayed with it. We didn’t let anything fluster us. We kept trusting one another.”

Stellar debut for White: Derrick White basically got off a plane this morning, picked a number, found out about an hour before the game that he was allowed to play, and dropped 15 points on 50% shooting, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. Wanna guess what the featured story will be later on?

Defense stepped up: After the Nuggets scored their 88th point to take their 9-point, fourth-quarter lead, Boston’s defense held them to 29% shooting the rest of the way, forced 2 turnovers, and got 3 blocks (all of them by Robert Williams). 

“Jokic (was) picking us apart, so we wanted to protect the paint, because we gave up way too many points in the first half,” Ime Udoka said. “Make them beat us with jump shots and one-on-one more so than easy baskets. That was the message and we locked in, limited them to a 42-point second half after giving up 60 in the first half. Kept grinding away until our defense seemed to get better.”

TURNING POINT

With the score 88-81 with 8:59 to go, Payton Pritchard drilled a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 4. It kicked off a 27-14 run to close the game over that final stretch. It was Pritchard’s only make of the night. 

THREE UP

Jayson Tatum: He was attacking the rim with force in this game. He kind of tailed off and he was not hitting from 3, but when it mattered, he got a clutch and-1 by attacking. He finished with 24 points 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Derrick White: He got a huge ovation when he checked into the game. He proceeded to make an immediate impact and he even hit 3 of his 7 3-pointers.

“I didn’t even know what to expect,” White said of his day. “I didn’t even know I was going to play until like an hour before, so that’s really when I got cleared. So just go out there, wait for when my number is called, and do what I need to do.”

Robert Williams: The man just makes impossible plays look easy. 

15 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists. He was everywhere. 

If I have one quibble, it’s that he continues to pass out of open dunks for 3-pointers. He’s hearing about it from his teammates. 

“Yeah, JT got on my ass. He got on my ass,” Williams said. “I couldn't tell who was behind me. But they always tell me as long I elevate, no one can jump with me. So you have to at least start looking at the goal a little bit.”

Smart did hit the shot tonight, so that's good. That was a huge shot, too. If that had missed, Rob might have been on the hook for a bad, game-changing decision.

TWO DOWN

Jaylen Brown: He was cold no matter where he was on the floor. He was 4-11 from 2, 0-6 from 3, and 4-7 from the free-throw line. He did have 4 assists though, so it wasn’t a bad overall game. He found White down low late for a clutch bucket, so he didn’t let his shooting get to him too much.

Payton Pritchard: He hit a huge shot, but it was the only shot he hit. I don’t think he did anything to help his cause for more minutes. 

TOP PLAYS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The offense looked good: I don’t care that shots didn’t fall. I don’t even care too much that they turned the ball over trying to be aggressive. This is a team that shot 39.6% from the field and still had 24 assists on 38 buckets. 

I saw a team that was moving the ball well, they were running their offense, and they were passing up a lot of 3-pointers to try to attack the basket. 

Just look at this possession: 

This is exactly what the Celtics have been preaching. Give the ball up, trust each other, get the ball back. They're getting there.

- They have their identity: This is a defensive team that is really starting to lean into that identity. They forced 21 turnovers for 22 points. The steals early on are what kept the Celtics in the game. The defense late is what closed it out. 

Now that they have White and Smart together, this can really take off. 

“You got me and him, two of the best defensive players in this league,” Smart said. “I could come off the floor and put him on and you have another defensive guy that is going to keep that momentum going on that end. And on the offensive end, you can play us together and make things really, really hard for other teams. That's the beauty of having Derrick here: It takes a lot of pressure off of me, Jaylen, Jayson, Rob and the rest of the team, especially when things aren't going well. It's just another guy that can keep going for it."

The Celtics played Nikola Jokic great down the stretch. The Nuggets post him up to draw double teams so he can pass and pick teams apart, which he did in the first half. Boston played him straight up late and they tightened up on the perimeter and made Jokic try to beat them on post-ups. The plan worked.

They're playing great defense and making adjustments. They're figuring it out.