When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Pepsi Center
TV/radio: ALT/NBA TV; 950 AM
Spotlight on Kyrie Irving: The all-star point guard from Duke is an MVP contender in his first season with the Celtics, entering Sunday ranked 10th in the NBA in scoring (24.8 points per game) while also averaging five assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals. He racked up 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting and added seven assists in his first meeting with Denver in mid-December, a performance that left Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray raving about Irving’s quickness, crafty ball handling and ability to shoot and drive. “There’s really nothing he can’t do,” Murray said. “So it’s kind of like guarding all angles on him.”
NOTEBOOK
Celtics: They are clinging to the top spot in the Eastern Conference (35-15) after losing five of their last six games, including a 109-105 defeat Saturday at defending champion Golden State. … Boston entered Sunday with the best defensive rating in the NBA, with 100 points allowed per 100 possessions. … Joining Kyrie Irving as an all-star is big man Al Horford, who is averaging 13.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. … Rookie forward Jayson Tatum has been impactful on both ends of the floor, averaging 13.3 points and 5.5 rebounds. He entered Sunday ranked fourth in the NBA in 3-point field-goal percentage (.442) and sixth among small forwards in defensive real plus-minus (1.42), which measures a player’s impact on team defensive performance.
Nuggets: They have won three games in a row, matching their longest streak of the season. But the matchup with Boston kicks off a brutal week for Denver, which plays Tuesday at San Antonio on the second night of a back-to-back set before hosting Oklahoma City on Thursday and Golden State on Saturday. … Nikola Jokic is coming off his second triple-double of the season, posting 11 points (including the winning basket), 16 rebounds and 11 assists (which tied a season high) in Saturday’s 91-89 win over visiting Dallas. The Nuggets are 15-4 when Jokic has at least a double-double. … Gary Harris, who leads the Nuggets in scoring at 17.3 points per game, put up a career-high 36 against the Celtics last month, a 124-118 loss in which Jokic, Paul Millsap and Will Barton all sat out with injuries. Harris entered Sunday ranked sixth in the NBA in steals, averaging 1.9 per game. … The Nuggets have used 19 starting lineups this season, going with Barton, Harris, Jokic, two-way rookie Torrey Craig and Mason Plumlee against the Mavericks on Saturday. Murray didn’t start that game because of a violation of team rules.
