Celtics Vs Nuggets — Denver’s win snaps Boston run as Jokic leads 103-84 victory

Who feels it first: the Celtics’ momentum and the Nuggets’ posture in the West. In the celtics vs nuggets matchup on Feb. 25, 2026 in Denver, Boston’s five-game winning streak (nine wins in 10) ended as the Nuggets used altitude and late runs to pull away. The result shifts short-term positioning in the Western Conference and immediately changes rotation and health questions for both teams.

Impact on standings, momentum and immediate stakeholders

Here’s the part that matters: Denver’s victory kept the Nuggets level with Houston in a tight Western Conference pack, leaving Denver a fraction of a percentage point behind the Rockets for third place. Boston loses the immediate momentum of a five-game streak and the confidence of that nine-in-10 stretch. Players most affected include Jamal Murray (left after 7: 51 with an illness and did not return), Jaylen Brown (returned from a right knee contusion and played), and Denver’s rotation pieces who shouldered the late workload.

What’s easy to miss is how the game rewrites short-term rotation questions: Denver bounced back from a 1-2 trip after the All-Star break that included a loss at Golden State on Sunday, while Boston still finished 3-1 on the West trip despite the loss in Denver’s thin air.

Celtics Vs Nuggets — Score, setting and final margin

DENVER — The final score was Nuggets 103, Celtics 84 on Feb. 25, 2026. The game was played in Denver, where the altitude factored into late-game separation. Denver extended a late lead to 17 on a Jonas Valanciunas tip-in midway through the fourth quarter, prompting Boston coach Joe Mazzulla to remove his starters as the margin grew.

Key performances and turning points

• Nikola Jokic finished with 30 points and 12 rebounds; he struggled from the field overall, shooting 11 of 28 and converting 4 of 13 on 3-pointers, but he helped spark an 11-0 run to end the third quarter that produced a 10-point lead heading into the final period.
• Tim Hardaway Jr. added 14 points for the Nuggets.
• Jaylen Brown, back in Boston’s lineup after sitting out Tuesday at Phoenix with a right knee contusion, scored 23 points.
• Colorado native Derrick White scored 18 of his 20 points in the second quarter, providing a concentrated scoring burst for Boston.

Rotations, health notes and what changed in-game

Jamal Murray left after logging 7: 51 because of an illness and did not return; that absence forced Denver to adjust guard minutes. Boston’s starters were removed late after the Nuggets extended the margin, and Jonas Valanciunas’ tip-in was the play that stretched the lead to 17. Denver’s ability to manufacture a decisive third-quarter run proved decisive when Boston’s second-half scoring cooled.

Tribute, timeline and immediate schedule

• Denver honored Doug Moe with a tribute video at the first timeout. Moe died Feb. 17 at 87.
• During his tenure, Moe won 432 games across his 10 seasons as the Nuggets’ coach, led the team to the Western Conference finals in 1985 and won two Midwest Division titles.
• Next: The Nuggets travel to Oklahoma City on Friday night (schedule subject to change).

Micro timeline: Feb. 17 — Doug Moe died at 87; Feb. 25, 2026 — Nuggets beat Celtics 103-84 in Denver; Following that game, Denver at Oklahoma City on Friday night.

The real question now is how each club responds in the next three games: Denver to stabilize its place in the standings while maintaining health, and Boston to rebuild the momentum it had before losing in Denver’s thin air.

Final aside: The bigger signal here is that altitude and targeted second-quarter bursts can still flip a tight road trip result, and illnesses or short absences — like Murray’s — may have outsized effects in compressed schedules.