BSJ Game Report: Nuggets 114, Celtics 110 - Murray outshines Brown late in C's loss

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

IN A NUTSHELL

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White combined for 25 of Boston’s 35 first-quarter points as they took a four-point lead into the second. The teams traded runs in the second quarter and ended up tied at halftime. They did it again in the third with Boston taking a three-point lead into the fourth. But Denver went on a monster run to close out the game and get the win. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Late swoon: The Celtics and Nuggets spent the entire second half fighting for the lead in a game that looked destined to go down to the wire. Then the Celtics turned it over five times in about eight minutes. 

“That's kind of where the lead went from back-and-forth game to when they were up, like seven, eight,” White said. “We've been pretty good about not making those mistakes, but those turnovers, they definitely made us pay for it.”

- Hot Nuggets shooting: I thought maybe they’d cool off after a hot start, but they just kept making shots. Some of them were off Boston’s defensive mistakes, some were because they spent a lot of time blitzing Jamal Murray, and he made them pay. It didn’t seem to matter how they got the shots, they just kept hitting everything. 

- Jamal Murray’s elite game: He finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, and 17 assists. Six of those assists came in the fourth quarter, all during Denver’s critical run to take control. 

“He is so efficient with everything he’s doing ... his style of play right now is just so, whatever the right play is, he’s just making it," Nuggets head coach David Adelman said. "Sometimes the right play is him, and sometimes –17 times– it was somebody else. Not to mention the eight rebounds, four offensive rebounds, just a complete game from a guard that’s playing as good as anybody in this league.”

TURNING POINT 

The Celtics were up 90-87 with 8:12 to go when the Nuggets went on a 19-3 run to take a 13-point lead with 2:24 to go. The bench made a late run to make it close.

THINGS I LIKED

Anfernee Simons: He was on another heater, scoring 15 points in 6-9 shooting. I thought he should have been in a little more late in the game. Simons was on his way to another postgame podium night if the Celtics could have pulled this out. 

- Neemias Queta’s rebounding: He snagged a career-high 20, thanks to a career-high 10 offensive boards. He had a couple of possessions where he got half of those because of his own misses, but was still working hard to clear the glass. 

- Luka Garza: He was a positive off the bench with 11 points and five rebounds. He’d tell you he could have had more offensive boards, which is true, but he finished a +8 in his 19 minutes. 

- Hugo Gonzalez: He was pretty good defensively, checking in with two blocks and four rebounds. This is a great hustle play:

 He’s still not reliable enough offensively to play above a better shooter, but that will come with time. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Jaylen Brown: It feels weird looking at a final stat line of 33 points, seven rebounds, and four assists and saying Brown had a bad game, but I didn’t think he was