The Celtics headed out on this late-season road trip sparkling. A masterful win over the Warriors to extend a long winning streak only re-emphasized why they’re the heavy favorite to win a championship this June and end their 16-year title drought.
But while these Celtics remain the class of the NBA with the best record by a good margin, while they have shown for the majority of this season that they have the look and mentality to get over the hump, this week has been a reminder that there is certainly work left to be done.
Tuesday’s loss to the Cavaliers revealed the Celtics still have growth to do in crunch time. Two nights later, they were reminded that the details matter in order to beat a championship-level team. Jaylen Brown scored 41 points, and the Celtics nearly pulled off the impossible in a late comeback bid against the defending champs, but they ultimately weren’t sharp enough in a 115-109 loss to the Nuggets on Thursday night in Denver.
In a potential NBA Finals preview, the Celtics couldn’t get enough stops. Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, and Jamal Murray added 19 points and eight assists as Denver’s dynamic duo were too much to overcome. Jayson Tatum, two nights after he fell short in the final moments of their loss to the Cavs, couldn’t respond. The Celtics couldn’t make up for it in other ways as they suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since November.
“Every detail matters when you’re playing against another great team,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters in Denver. “So that’s some of the stuff we’ll learn from.”
The Celtics trailed by 11 with 4:43 remaining but made a late rally that nearly resulted in a miraculous victory. Behind two clutch step-back 3-pointers from Jrue Holiday, the Celtics suddenly found themselves trailing by two in the final minute when Brown forced a steal of Murray, and put the C’s in transition. The ball eventually found Tatum wide open for a go-ahead 3-pointer from the corner, but it came up short.
On the next possession, Jokic found Aaron Gordon for an alley-oop dunk with 20 seconds to go, which ultimately sealed the Celtics’ fate.
Jokic, ultimately, was too good. The Celtics, while they still nearly won, didn’t do themselves any favors to beat a championship team that’s almost unbeatable at home. Brown, as great as he was, went 7-for-14 from the free-throw line. Tatum failed to make his mark on the game, finishing with 15 points and five of the Celtics’ 12 turnovers. The Nuggets were better in end-of-quarter situations. The Celtics weren’t sharp enough on defense.
“Too many mistakes,” Brown told reporters. “Against a good team, we have to take advantage. Turnovers, free throws, just missing the defensive assignments. All that stuff, we have to be better. It starts with me, starts at the top, starts with Jayson and we made too many mistakes, and it cost us the game.”
Mazzulla pointed to at least 10-12 possessions that the Nuggets took advantage of better than the Celtics. While the Celtics created several possessions thanks to 13 offensive rebounds, they were beaten badly at the end of quarters. The Nuggets finished the first quarter on an 8-2 run, capped by Murray’s deep buzzer-beating 3-pointer. It was an 11-4 run to end the second quarter following a sequence in which Derrick White was blocked before Jokic’s bank shot at the buzzer.
The Celtics, while they fought back in the third quarter, continued to play catch-up the rest of the night.
“Those possessions are magnified,” Mazzulla said.
While Brown flourished in a physical game, Tatum struggled to make a real impact as the Nuggets gave him tough looks to make him more of a passer. It affected the Celtics at times as they struggled to generate consistent offense.
“I think they were just trying to break his rhythm a little bit, not let him get going, make him settle for some isolation shots,” Brown said. “We gotta find different spots to help him out.”
Meanwhile, Jokic was a monster as he continued to prove why he’s the best player in the league, and Tatum still has plenty of room to reach the Nuggets star’s MVP level. The Nuggets continued to thrive when Jokic was off the court, but they were nearly impossible to stop when he was on the floor. The big man was in an extreme comfort zone, routinely getting into the paint where he either finished at the rim or found teammates for open looks.
While the Celtics generated enough stops to make a strong comeback bid, Jokic and Gordon always had the critical answers down the stretch. The Celtics trailed by five with 2:06 to play when Jokic’s miss was cleaned up by Gordon, who made an insane putback dunk over a sleeping Tatum. Then came Jokic’s alley-oop to Gordon that sealed the game with 20 seconds left. Whether it was Jokic finishing or Gordon making key buckets down low, the Celtics couldn’t make enough stops.
“Jokic is just a monster down there, so we threw some different coverages at him,” Brown said. “We guarded him one on one, then we tried to have late help and stuff like that. I felt like I should have guarded Jokic a little bit, a little more. I wish I would have had those opportunities a little bit. I could keep him away from the basket and we could have kept away some of those layups they got.”
While the Celtics took the loss hard, they acknowledged the valuable lessons it could have for them. After rolling for more than a month and looking just about invincible, this could be a reality check they needed, especially if they see these Nuggets again in June.
“This was a big game. We wanted to win this one,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “It stings, it stings real bad, but I like that there’s a big margin that we can improve from this game. … What I like is there’s a margin for us to get better, to play better. It’s possible that we hope to see them again.”
Added Mazzulla: “When you play against two great teams, they bring the best out of you and they bring opportunity to learn out of you, and opportunity to learn from those. I feel good about where we’re at and what we need to work on.”
