Boston looked like a team on the final leg of a five-game road trip early Friday night at Pepsi Center, but it provided an impressive comeback that fell just short late in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics lost to the Denver Nuggets 96-92 in a game that was overshadowed by a scary injury to Kemba Walker. Boston’s strong second-half surge got it within one late down the stretch, but Denver ultimately held off its pesky Eastern Conference opponent.
Jaylen Brown (22), Jayson Tatum (16), Marcus Smart (15) and Brad Wanamaker (14) all finished in double figures for Boston.Â
Jamal Murray led the way for Denver with 22 points.
The Celtics fell to 11-4 with the loss, while the Nuggets moved to 11-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG:Â Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis
SLOW START ONCE AGAIN
Boston opened this one 1-for-10 from the floor, which has become a trend on its five-game road trip. The slow start allowed Denver to jump out to an 18-8 lead.
The Nuggets controlled all aspects of the game in the first quarter, forcing the Celtics offense to look completely out of sorts. Yes, it was the final game of a long road trip, but credit here goes to Denver’s defense.
Boston shot just 23.8 percent during the first-quarter, resulting in a season-low 13-point quarter. Tatum, Walker and Brown combined to go just 1-for-13 over the game’s first 12 minutes.
Will Barton led all scorers with eight points as Denver took a 27-13 lead into the second.
SCARY SCENE
The Celtics’ shooting struggles did not disappear at the conclusion of the first quarter, but Brown did a nice job of driving and attacking the basket early in the second. It didn’t result in much, but in a host of brutal possessions, Brown’s effort certainly was a positive.
Wanamaker has been a bright spot of late for Boston, and that was the case again in the second quarter, as he, alongside the bench unit and Brown, sparked an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to single-digits just past the midway point in the quarter.
The entire quarter took a scary turn at the 3:13 mark, however, when Walker, with his head down, collided with Semi Ojeleye. Walker dropped to the floor and remained motionless, but conscious, for roughly eight minutes before being carefully transferred to a stretcher and taken off the court to a standing ovation from the Pepsi Center crowd.
Kemba Walker was taken off the court in a stretcher after this play pic.twitter.com/i1jcJeoDwB
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 23, 2019
You can see the injury to Walker here.
Denver led by 11 at the break.
DENVER EXTENDING LEAD
Boston understandably was a bit removed from the game in the third quarter on the heels of the scary second-quarter scene. The Nuggets pushed their lead out to 21 points midway through the quarter behind strong efforts from Murray, Nikola Jokic and Barton.
Wanamaker once again provided a nice spark off the bench, keeping Boston within striking distance for portions of the third frame. But Denver’s core was able to maintain the double-digit lead for the majority of the quarter.
The Nuggets led 70-57 after three.
FOURTH-QUARTER SURGE
The Celtics were able to cut the deficit to six with just under seven minutes left in regulation, but they didn’t stop there.
Boston let its defense dictate its offense midway through the quarter to provide the spark, pushing the C’s to a 16-5 run to make this a two-point game at the 5:34 mark of the fourth. Another Nuggets turnover and a Brown layup made it 77-76 Denver a little over a minute later, setting up for an entertaining final stretch.
The Celtics refused to go away, as they continually answered each of Denver’s buckets in the final five minutes. Tatum and Brown hit back-to-back crucial 3-pointers later, moving the deficit back to one on each shot.
This was a one-possession game with one minute left as Boston looked for a stop, but Paul Millsap’s corner 3-pointer extended the Nuggets’ lead to six with 38 seconds left. Brown answered with a triple of his own on the next possession to make it 91-88, which was followed up by Murray hitting a clutch mid-range jumper with 10 seconds left.
The two sides played chicken late, but Denver ultimately would prevail 96-92.
PLAY OF THE GAME
Wanamaker –> Theis
Pick
Roll
JAM 💥 https://t.co/ja8IP2l0h1— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 23, 2019
UP NEXT
The Celtics return home for a two-game homestand beginning Monday night when they take on the Sacramento Kings. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
