BSJ Game Report: Celtics 118, Nuggets 106 - C's pull away late from Jokic-less Nuggets

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Nuggets, with BSJ insight and analysis.

IN A NUTSHELL

Kristaps Porzingis dominated the first with 15 points while Boston’s defense took over halfway through to build a 12-point lead. Jamal Murray got cooking in the second while Boston went cold, leading to a tie game at the half. Jaylen Brown woke up after a scoreless first half to put up eight in the third and Boston took a five-point lead into the fourth. The Nuggets tied it up, but Boston broke it open mid-way through and got the double-digit win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Porzingis sets the tone: He had that big first quarter and he played some really good defense along the way, including a monster block on DeAndre Jordan. 

“I’m just working my way back up. 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.” 

That's good news. Now let’s hope he can get a good stretch of games together so he can get to where he needs to be. He finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds. 

- Finishing strong: I’ll get more into this later, but this easily could have been a stagger to the finish line situation. They started to back off a little too early after going up 15, but they recovered to close the game out. Jrue Holiday was huge in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points and hitting 2-3 from 3.

- Successful road trip: I said going into it that 3-1 would be a good road trip, and that's what we got. I didn’t think it’d go exactly like this, but I’ll take it. If it wasn’t for the worst offensive half of their professional lives, they might have swept the trip. 

TURNING POINT

The Celtics went on a 15-0 run in the middle of the fourth quarter to turn a tie game into a double-digit lead. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Porzingis rounding into form: He punished the Nuggets all night, going 7-8 in the restricted area. He was strong and physical against mismatches. With Nikola Jokic out, Porzingis was free to spend a lot of his energy on the offensive end. 

- Jayson Tatum: Aside from the 3-point shooting, Tatum was dominant offensively. He was 9-12 in the paint, 8-10 in the restricted area. He finished with 29 points, six assists, and four rebounds. He also blocked a couple of shots. 

- Jrue Holiday: Every once in a while, Holiday looks like the adult in the room who just won’t let the Celtics fumble the game away. He cleared rebounds, defended, hit big shots, and made great passes, finishing with 19 points seven assists, two steals and a block. Four of his assists came in the third quarter to help Boston rebuild a lead they’d lost

- Jaylen Brown’s second half: I won’t say he was a no-show in the first half because he did have five assists. But he woke up in the second, aggressively attacking the basket to get the offense going and then creating for others. He also took the defensive challenge of guarding Jamal Murray, helping cut that water off. 

- Luke Kornet: I thought he was really good defensively. He had two blocked shots and I think he changed a few more. He was especially good early on. 

- Sam Hauser: He hit some tough 3-pointers. I hope this gets him going again. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The second quarter: They got a little casual after building the 15-point lead in the first. It felt like a classic case of ignoring a couple of guys who then started hitting shots, and then not being able to stop those shots from falling when they decided to play a little defense. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Denver without Nikola Jokic is a different beast, so this was a pretty good win

I know it’s easy to look at the on/off numbers with Jokic and say these were 48 “off” minutes so Boston should have cruised. But the Nuggets are such a different team when Jokic is out for a whole game. They play a different style and it can be tough to adjust to that when you’ve been gearing up for a certain kind of game. 

“That's a tough team to figure out when their main guy is out,” Porzingis sad after the game. “They play completely differently.”

And remember, these aren’t the usual non-Jokic lineups. This was starting the game without him, not bringing in reserves when he sits down in the first quarter. They get to start the game playing a little differently and keep that up all 48 minutes. 

The Nuggets played loose and free for much of the game, and Boston probably let up some after starting the first quarter strong. Murray hit some really tough shots and it got the whole team going. Once they got rolling, especially when a non-shooter like Russell Westbrook is making shots, they can ride that wave for a while. 

So I give the C’s credit for putting that big run together. It could have gone much differently playing their last game of the road trip, in altitude, against a team that was rolling and motivated.

“We've lost some of those games before,” Tatum said. “Obviously, other guys just get more opportunities, more freedom. So it's gonna be the dog fight, especially with them. They won the championship two years ago, they're well-coached, they know what it takes to win.”

I know it wasn’t easy. The Celtics definitely made it hard on themselves, but they responded to all of their down moments. Ultimately, it’s a 12-point win, and I’ll take that regardless of the situation. 

- Confidence is building

I said before the trip that heading on the road would probably be good for them. They needed some time just to be together in a situation that required the kind of focus this trip did. 

“Everybody said this road trip was brutal,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I just like the way our guys handled it … the road trip mindset that they brought. The physicality that they knew needed to be throughout the course of all four games was there, the connectivity. And I think this road trip, I thought we became a better team, so we just got to keep that up”

They had the team meeting before the trip to refocus after a tough December. And weirdly, the bad second half against OKC can actually build some confidence just because Boston can defiantly claim some normal shooting would have won them the game. It’s one of those types of things where it was so bad that everyone locks in after that because they're sick of hearing how they lost. 

“I think we're getting there,” Porzingis said. “I think we're gonna turn the corner and go on a nice run. I really believe so.”

If the Celtics can get the consistency to match their confidence, Porzingis might be right.

Next up: The Celtics come back home to face the Sacramento Kings Friday night.