Jaylen Brown likes where the Celtics are despite Celtics Vs Nuggets loss
In Denver on Wednesday night, the Boston Celtics dropped a 103-84 game in a celtics vs nuggets matchup that ended their otherwise productive road trip. Jaylen Brown said his team would take lessons from the night, even after its least efficient offensive performance of the season.
Celtics Vs Nuggets Third Quarter Dip
Joe Mazzulla called one timeout. Then another. The third quarter ended. The fourth quarter began. None of the breaks could snap the Boston Celtics out of the funk they were experiencing Wednesday night during the second half of the 103-84 loss to the Denver Nuggets. That defeat was the Celtics’ first loss of a four-game Western swing.
Timeouts and the Turnover Spiral
Fatigue seemed to trip up the Celtics late in the third quarter, when their defense, strong until that point, began to unravel. Mazzulla called a timeout with 1: 27 left in the third after the Nuggets scored on three straight possessions with a dunk and two layups. Trailing 70-67, Mazzulla seemed to sense the game slipping away. His timeout did nothing to slow down the damage.
Jokić’s 30 Points, 12 Rebounds
On the first possession out of the timeout, Nikola Vučević missed a layup and the Nuggets capitalized with a fast break the other way. Moments later, Nikola Jokić, who finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on 11-of-28 shooting, drained a 3-pointer to extend Denver’s lead to 75-67. Following a Jaylen Brown turnover, K. J. Simpson slammed home a dunk to put the Celtics behind by 10. Boston then went scoreless over the first 1: 57 of the fourth quarter as the Nuggets finished a 15-0 run.
Brown’s Take and Quotes
“For most of the third (quarter), we just weren’t really able to get anything going, ” Derrick White said. “And then they were taking those misses and getting out in transition and getting layups. ”
Jaylen Brown acknowledged the misses but maintained a constructive view: “Every night is an opportunity to learn, ” Brown said. “So definitely some takeaways from tonight. They’re a good team. I thought we put ourselves in a good position. We’ve just got to convert. I thought we had a bunch of open looks, and we just got to stick ’em and trust our guys to shoot it confidently. And then also I think we gave them a couple more extra-chance points than we would have liked on the glass. But other than that, I thought we competed. ”
Brown added later: “Tough night shooting the ball. Their physicality was pretty good tonight, but I thought we just didn’t convert on the offensive end. That kind of spilled over to defense a little bit. ”
Road Trip and Fatigue Factors
The Celtics had dominated the first three games of their road trip, beating the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns by 49 combined points. Even so, the second leg of a back-to-back in Denver — at the end of a long Western Conference swing — counted as one of the most difficult games on their schedule. Aaron Gordon was sidelined by a hamstring issue, and Jamal Murray left the game in the first half with an illness. The Nuggets’ play in the Denver altitude also posed a challenge.
Bench, Misses and Momentum
“It was a combination of we missed shots, a combination of a couple live-ball turnovers, and then they got out in transition, ” Mazzulla said. “I think half of (that) run came in transition, either off some of our missed shots, our missed rim reads, or just a turnover. ”
The Celtics shot just 34. 9 percent from the field, their least efficient offensive performance of the season, and had multiple opportunities to cut into the deficit during the fourth quarter but repeatedly missed good looks. Mazzulla emptied the bench midway through the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics hit a snag in Denver Wednesday night, leading to their first loss of a four-game Western swing. Jamie Schwaberow is credited in the original caption. For the second straight game, only White could find a sho — unclear in the provided context.
The Celtics will take the game as a learning opportunity after the celtics vs nuggets matchup and move forward from a difficult night on offense and a decisive Nuggets run.
