CELTICS PREVAIL
Denver falls 124-118 at Boston
BO STON» About 90 minutes before the finale of Denver’s six-game road trip against the Celtics, coach Michael Malone stressed the Nuggets would be facing one of the NBA’s best teams, with one of its best players, in one of its best environments. Malone hoped his team would not “exhale” after a tenacious defensive effort in a win at Detroit the previous night.
The Nuggets hung around for the bulk of Wednesday’s contest at TD Garden. But an undermanned Denver squad ultimately did not have enough firepower to keep up with Boston in a 124-118 loss.
“There are no moral victories in this business, but I like the fact that we’re competing,” Malone said after the game. “I like the fact that we’re giving ourselves a chance to win against really good teams while we’re undermanned. This is only going to make us stronger down the stretch.”
After building a double-digit firsthalf lead, the Celtics (24-6) answered anytime Denver made a second-half push. When Gary Harris — who scored a career-high 36 points to go along with six assists — went airborne for a putback layup to tie the score at 85, Boston answered with an 8-2 run capped by an old-fashioned three-point play by rookie Jayson Tatum. After a Malik Beasley basket cut the Celtics’ lead to 97-94 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Boston scored nine straight to stretch the lead back to 12 points.
Denver, which still sits in fifth place in the Western Conference at 15-13, remained short-handed against the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics. Though officially listed as available to play, standout center Nikola Jokic (sprained ankle) sat out his seventh consecutive game. Versatile perimeter player Will Barton, who has emerged as the Nuggets’ leading scorer in Jokic’s absence, missed the game with a bruised lower back suffered Tuesday in Detroit.
Still, Denver shot just under 50 percent on a Boston team that entered Wednesday as the NBA’s best scoring defense (97.3 points allowed per game). Harris made 16-of-25 field-goal attempts en route to his career night, while Jamal Murray added 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Mason Plumlee (15 points, six rebounds) and Wilson Chandler (14 points, five rebounds) also finished in double figures.
“You just give him the ball and get out of the way,” Murray said of Harris’ performance. “He was making all types of plays. We just did a great job of trying to find him each time on the court, and he was doing the rest.”
Added Harris: “I knew I had to (step up offensively), especially since Will was gone . ... I was able to knock down some shots.”
Boston was also short-handed, playing without Al Horford (rest) and Gordon Hayward (fractured ankle), but welcomed the return of MVP candidate Kyrie Irving (33 points, seven assists) from a quadriceps injury, the continued production of Jaylen Brown (26 points) and the bench spark from Shane Larkin (14 points). Overall, Boston shot 59.5 percent from the field and 11-of-25 from 3-point distance and sealed the game with free throws down the stretch.
Denver had a chance to finish its road trip 3-3, an accomplishment Malone believes few would have predicted given the injuries and dreadful start with two defensive letdowns at Dallas and New Orleans.
“Our guys didn’t roll over. We didn’t quit. We played to the buzzer,” Malone said. “That’s a sign of a team that is growing, and then hopefully that’s going to lead for very good things for us as we move forward.”