Final: Nuggets 114, Celtics 110 - Boston win streak snapped by Jamal Murray, hot-shooting Denver

BOSTON CELTICS (23-12) vs. DENVER NUGGETS (24-12)

Regular season game 36

TD Garden 7:00 p.m. - NBCS Boston/ESPN

SCHEDULE ADVANTAGE: Boston. The Nuggets are wrapping up a seven-game road trip in Boston and this is their third game in four nights. 

Boston has won four in a row and eight of their last nine.

INJURIES

Boston: Josh Minott (OUT-ankle), Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles) 

Denver: Nikola Jokic (OUT-knee), Jonas Valanciunas (OUT-calf), Tamar Bates (OUT-foot), Jamal Murray (PROBABLE-ankle), Christian Braun (PROBABLE-ankle), Aaron Gordon (PROBABLE-hamstring), Tim Hardaway Jr (PROBABLE-illness), Jalen Pickett (PROBABLE-illness)

OFFICIALS

Kevin Scott (#24)    Andy Nagy (#83)    Jonathan Sterling (#17)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Absorb the early hit and pounce on the second unit: The Nuggets went into overtime in Philadelphia a couple of nights ago, but they didn’t play their banged up starters. Those guys are all nursing things, but with the extra day off and this game being on ESPN, I’m sure Jamal Murray and company will be amped up right out of the gates. 

The supporting guys played a lot of minutes in that game, though. Spencer Jones, Jalen Pickett, Peyton Watson, and Bruce Brown all played between 39-44 minutes. So those are the guys that seem to be the weak points. They are all capable of getting hot from 3, so make them work defensively and maybe their legs will get a bit rubbery and they’ll start front-rimming shots. 

2. Center rotations: The Nuggets have been going to rookie DaRon Holmes as a small-ball center, which will make things a bit interesting for the Celtics and Neemias Queta. 

How much of a chance will he get on Holmes? Will he simply sag off Holmes and dare him to burn the Celtics behind the arc? Holmes has had a couple of 2-3 nights from deep, but he’s only 6-14 on the season and he’s coming off an 0-3 night. 

If he starts hitting, then I wonder if the Celtics will go to Jordan Walsh early to match up with him and shift Queta’s substitution patter to match up with Aaron Gordon. I’m not sure how much better that is, but at least Queta’s height can be a deterrent against Gordon’s drives. 

3. Jaylen Brown bouncing back: His legs weren’t there on Monday night, leading to a terrible shooting night. Because his shooting has been so good this season, any dip has to make you wonder if it’s the start of a slump or regression that will level out the numbers. A bounce-back in this game will go a long way in alleviating those fears and make it much more likely that his strong mid-range shooting is part of an improvement rather than outlier. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.