Recap: Celtics Wake Up Defense, Use 31-3 Run to Beat Nuggets 105-87
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Jayson Tatum scored 28 points and Boston used a momentum-shifting 31-3 run between the third and fourth quarters to sprint to a 105-87 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Jaylen Brown scored 20 points, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart each added 14 points, and Robert Williams had 10 points, 8 boards, and two blocked shots. The Celtics won their second straight game and snapped Denver’s eight-game winning streak. This pushed them to two games over .500 for the first time since March 4 while they swept the season series vs the Nuggets in the process.
The Nuggets were led by Michael Porter Jr with 22 points. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Facundo Campazzo started in the place of the injured Jamal Murray, notching 14 points and 4 assists.
Denver came out on a mission to jump on the Celtics early by taking a 5-0 lead out the gate. They used nine points by Porter Jr. and seven from Will Barton to spark an 11-0 run in the first quarter and led 27-16 at the end of one. Boston started to cut into the lead in the second as Tatum scored 11 points and Smart added seven as the defense picked up. But the Nuggets used a late 10-2 run to take a 51-45 lead into halftime.
The Celtics picked up their offense in the third as Jaylen Brown got aggressive to pour in 12 points in the period. Walker added seven points, including a three-point play with 0.5 seconds left in the third. But Jokic got hot and dropped 14 points along with Campazzo hitting two three-point field goals. Denver was up 79-65 with 2:17 left in the quarter after Campazzo made his second triple. The Celtics used five points by Walker and four by Brown to close the third on a 9-0 spurt, trailing 79-74 going into the fourth.
Boston continued the onslaught of the large 31-3 run into the fourth quarter. Brown and Walker made buckets and Romeo Langford made two free throws to make the score 80-79. Will Barton made one of two free throws to tie the game at 80 before Tatum scored 10 straight points, assisted on a Robert Williams dunk, and scored another basket on the next possession.
Grant Williams made a layup to end the run and give the Celtics a 96-82 lead with 4:41 left in the game. The Nuggets would get no closer than 15 points the rest of the way as the Celtics won for the fourth time in their last five games.
Boston mounted yet another comeback to scrape together a big-time victory. They start 1-0 on their three-game road trip and will now head to Portland to take on Damian Lillard and the Trailblazers on Tuesday. That game tips off at 10:00 p.m. (EST) on TNT.
