The Boston Celtics nearly blew a 20-point lead for the second consecutive game. But unlike Friday night when they lost at home to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics prevailed over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon, 110-103.
Boston led 32-20 at the end of the first quarter and built a 68-48 lead early in the third, looking as if they would blow out the team with the second-best record in the Western Conference (and fifth-best mark in the NBA).
However, the Nuggets cut the margin to five near the end of the quarter and closed the score to 88-84 with 8:58 remaining in the fourth. But Jaylen Brown followed up a jumper by Sam Hauser with a block on DeAndre Jordan. Brown then fed Payton Pritchard for a layup and the Celtics opened the lead back up to 94-84.
Denver got to within four points one more time with a Nikola Jokić 3-pointer to make it 95-91 halfway through the fourth quarter. Boston once again began to pull away, but the Nuggets made one more surge to cut the deficit to 102-99 on a Jamal Murray driving layup with 1:15 remaining in regulation.
However, Denver couldn’t get any closer in the last minute of play, thanks to Jayson Tatum and Al Horford each making two free throws.
Brown finished with 22 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead Boston. Horford followed with 19 points and eight rebounds, along with three steals that each seemed to come at key moments. Tatum grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out seven assists, but shot 4-of-15 from the floor for his 16 points.
Jokić appeared to hurt himself during the opening tip and was limping a bit to start the game. But he didn’t sit for any extended period of time (even after suffering a nasty scratch on his left arm), eventually playing 39 minutes and nearly collecting another triple-double with 20 points, 14 points and nine assists.
Murray led Denver with a game-high 26 points, adding seven assists and six rebounds. Christian Braun followed with 24 points and six boards.
With the loss, the Nuggets dropped to 39-22 and could get bumped down to the No. 3 seed in the West if the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night. Denver returns home after a four-game road trip to host the Sacramento Kings (31-28) on Wednesday.
Boston’s victory broke a two-game losing streak in which they lost by 20 to the Detroit Pistons and blew a 22-point lead to the Cavaliers. They improved to 43-18 and maintain a strong hold on the East’s No. 2 seed. The Celtics are off until Wednesday when they host the Portland Trail Blazers (27-33).
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