Celtics Vs Nuggets: Jaylen Brown likes where the Celtics are despite celtics vs nuggets loss in Denver
The Boston Celtics dropped a 103-84 game in Denver, the first loss of a four-game Western swing, and Jaylen Brown said the celtics vs nuggets matchup still offered lessons they can use going forward. The defeat came after a tough second half in which the Nuggets pulled away amid a decisive run.
Timeouts, momentum swing and a 15-0 run
Coach Joe Mazzulla called one timeout, then another, as the third quarter closed and the fourth began, but neither break stopped the slide the Celtics experienced in the second half of the 103-84 loss. Mazzulla had called a timeout with 1: 27 left in the third after the Nuggets scored on three straight possessions — a dunk and two layups — that left Boston trailing 70-67. The timeout failed to halt Denver’s surge.
On the first possession after that timeout, Nikola Vučević missed a layup and the Nuggets pushed in transition. Moments later Nikola Jokić drained a 3-pointer to make it 75-67. Following a turnover by Jaylen Brown, K. J. Simpson slammed home a dunk that put the Celtics behind by 10. Boston then went scoreless over the first 1: 57 of the fourth quarter as Denver completed a 15-0 run.
Celtics Vs Nuggets: Nikola Jokić’s line and game context
Nikola Jokić finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and six assists on 11-of-28 shooting in the Nuggets’ 103-84 victory. The game unfolded in Denver, where Aaron Gordon was sidelined with a hamstring issue and Jamal Murray left the game in the first half with an illness. The piece of the schedule — the second leg of a back-to-back at the end of a long Western Conference swing — was described as one of the most difficult games on Boston’s slate, and Denver’s altitude was noted as a factor in the matchup.
Offensive struggles: low efficiency and missed opportunities
The Celtics had their least efficient offensive outing of the season, shooting just 34. 9 percent from the field. Derrick White said, “For most of the third (quarter), we just weren’t really able to get anything going, ” adding that Denver took advantage of misses to get out in transition and score layups. Jaylen Brown said the team got “a lot of great looks” and that “every night is an opportunity to learn, ” but acknowledged the need to convert those chances and to limit extra-chance points on the glass.
Brown also summarized the night bluntly: “Tough night shooting the ball. ” He added that the Nuggets’ physicality affected Boston’s offense and that the offensive struggles spilled over to the defensive end.
Mazzulla’s assessment and bench changes
Mazzulla characterized the decisive run as a mix of missed shots, live-ball turnovers and transition baskets, saying, in effect, that half of the run came off transition after missed shots, missed rim reads or turnovers. With the game slipping away in the fourth, Mazzulla emptied the bench midway through the quarter.
Despite the loss, the Celtics had dominated the first three games of their road trip, beating the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns by a combined 49 points. The defeat in Denver ended that stretch and was described as a painful way to finish an otherwise productive road swing, though the team appeared to shrug off the rough night.
Late-game appearance notes and an unfinished context line
The game narrative includes additional lineup and performance details: following Brown’s turnover that led to a dunk by K. J. Simpson, Boston’s offense stalled during the stretch that decided the game. The context also notes that for the second straight game, “only White could find a sho” — unclear in the provided context.
Image credit: Jamie Schwaberow
