A clean sweep would’ve been nice, but losing just one of four games out West wasn’t bad for the Boston Celtics on their post-All-Star-break road trip. Their 103-84 loss to the Denver Nuggets reminded them that they’re mortal, but solidified Boston’s defensive growth -- something Jaylen Brown had implored his teammates to remain focussed on throughout the trip.
Heading in, many in the Celtics community wondered how the team would fare defending Nikola Jokic.
The answer?
Pretty decent. Boston allowed the three-time MVP to get 30 points, but it wasn’t easy for him. Jokic sank just 11 of his 28 attempts from the field, 13 of which came from beyond the arc. On average, the big man fires up just 4.8 triples per game. The Celtics forced him out towards the perimeter with double teams and added pressure. Even setting his teammates to score didn’t come with the usual ease for The Joker. He dished out just six assists compared to his average of 10.4.
The Celtics defense has sneakily improved lately
Defense has slowly become the calling card for the second-seeded Celtics. They’ve kept opposing teams in check throughout February. Boston has allowed the fewest opposing points per game, at 96.7, across 10 matchups this month -- nearly 10 fewer than the Detroit Pistons, who give up the second fewest. Since returning from the break, they’ve ranked second in defensive rating at 102.7, trailing only Denver, ironically.
Giving up just 104 points to the Jokic-led Nuggets is no small feat, even with Aaron Gordon sidelined with a hamstring issue, and Jamal Murray having left the game in the first half due to illness.
For the first 34 minutes, Denver only managed 66 points. They struggled to produce consistent offense until a flurry of missed shots and turnovers by Boston opened the door for their game-breaking 21-3 run.
“It was a combination of a couple of missed shots, a couple of live-ball turnovers, and then they got out in transition,” Joe Mazzulla explained (via CLNS Media). “It was an 11-0 run. It came through our missed shots, missed rim reads, or turnovers.”
Typically, the level of defense Boston played would’ve been enough to get them across the finish line. They held the Nuggets to just 41.9% from the field and 34.9% from beyond the arc.
Sometimes, it's just not your night
The issues, as was the case during the big Denver run, came on the offensive end.
Tired legs caught up to the Celtics on the second night of a back-to-back. They missed plenty of shots they’d usually expect to see fall, and grew colder as the game went on. Their 36 second-half points on 11-39 from the floor ultimately allowed the hosts to pull away.
Even so, they won’t be dwelling on it.
“One game doesn’t make or break us,” Jaylen Brown told reporters in the locker room (via CLNS Media). “Tonight, we could’ve played better, could’ve converted a little bit more. [It was] the second night of a back-to-back. We don’t hang our head, though. We move onto the next.”
“We knew it was going to be a tough back-to-back,” Derrick White echoed during his own availability (via CLNS Media). “I think we’re in a really good spot.”
Win or loss, the mindset for Mazzulla’s Celtics remains the same, they’re always searching for ways to improve.
“Every night is an opportunity to learn,” Brown added. “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.”
The 19-point blowout loss on national TV served as a disappointing end to an otherwise successful West Coast tour. Nonetheless, the reality for Boston is the opposite. They sit second in the Eastern Conference 58 games in, are winners of eight of their last 10 games, and again, have grown tremendously as a defensive unit. Neither fans, nor the players, have any reason to overreact to what happened Thursday.
“It would’ve been great to finish out strong on the road trip with a win. But 3-1 on a West Coast swing, coming straight out of All-Star break is not half-bad. We just gotta continue to get better little by little. I like where we’re at as a group. I think we’re playing some really good basketball. I think our guys have developed in areas that we continue to just push along. So we just gotta keep that up.”