Tonight was to be a marquee matchup between two title contenders but unfortunately for the Denver Nuggets they were at a major disadvantage from the jump with Nikola Jokic being ruled out due to illness. Their opponents, the Boston Celtics, were also missing a starter in Derrick White but still had Jayson Tatum and he was fantastic. Kristaps Porzingis chipped in a big first half and the Nuggets couldn’t find enough offense late to stay with the defending champs. Denver puts up a valiant effort, but ultimately loses 118-106.

The Nuggets opened the game knocking down threes while Porzingis led the offense for Boston. That continued to be the case as the quarter progressed. Denver’s first five field goals were threes but Kristaps also had nine points in the first four minutes. Tatum started to get into the action for Boston while Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray were essentially the only offense Denver had. The Nuggets went cold and the Celtics lead was growing down the stretch of the quarter with Tatum leading the way. The advantage got to ten with about three minutes to go. Porzingis took a shot to the particulars but recovered and continued to dominate as the quarter closed. After one Boston led 37-25.

The Celtics kept the pressure on to start the second while Denver struggled to hit jumpers. After a timeout, Strawther started to get a little hot and scored five straight points to get the Celtic lead back down to nine. With Tatum and Porzingis on the bench Boston was struggling to score and Denver kept working their lead down. Tatum checked back in with about six minutes to go and the Celtics only up by four. They refocused on defense and stopped Denver’s run but the game was suddenly very close. Murray got hot and scored eight in a row for Denver who was within two in the final minutes. They kept playing strong to close out the half and went to the locker room all tied up at 57.

Boston looked a bit disjointed to start the third quarter, including Porzingis who got postered by Porter, but a Celtic whistle kept Denver from growing a lead. The Nuggets kept hanging tough while the Celtics started to figure out how to execute on offense again. Halfway through the third quarter the Nuggets were only down four but it felt like they were having to work so much harder to get points. It was the full Russell Westbrook experience in the middle of the third and it was mostly the bad side of the experience…but then he’d pull up for a three and bury it when Denver needed it the most. The Celtics stayed in front but couldn’t build up a big lead with the quarter closing. Murray found Peyton Watson for an alley-oop to get the crowd off their feet in the final minute. After three Denver trailed 88-83.

Michael Malone opened the fourth with a successful challenge and and Denver scored five straight points to tie the game. The Nuggets kept hanging tough, Strawther was carrying the bench again but they couldn’t find a way to get in front. Boston went on a 10-0 run behind Tatum while Denver’s shots started going flat. The lead got up to fourteen before Westbrook sparked some life back in the Nuggets as they tried to mount a late comeback. Unfortunately, Denver got called for another foul (shocking) and had a couple turnovers to stop their rally almost as fast as it started. The lead kept around double digits with the game coming to a close. A Jrue Holiday three left no doubt and the game ended with a Boston 118-106 victory.