Nuggets Beat Celtics 115-109 in Potential 2024 NBA Finals Preview

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics 115-109 at Ball Arena to sweep the regular season series 2-0, which bodes well for the defending NBA champions in this potential 2024 NBA Finals Preview.

After the Nuggets handed the Celtics their first home loss of the season 102-100 after Boston started 20-0 at TD Garden. Denver hosted Boston in the late slot of a TNT Thursday night doubleheader in the second and final game of the two teams regular season series. The Celtics entered the matchup with the best record in the NBA at 48-13, while the Nuggets sat third in the West at 42-20. Both teams also played and lost on TNT on Tuesday, with the Nuggets losing a crazy overtime affair to the Phoenix Suns, and the Celtics falling to the rising Eastern Conference threat Cleveland Cavaliers.

The game started as a back-and-forth affair before the Celtics briefly took control late in the first quarter. But the Nuggets regained the late on a savvy 30-foot Jamal Murray three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 30-28 lead.

Murray beats the 1Q buzzer from WAY DOWNTOWN!

Denver takes a 30-28 lead on TNT pic.twitter.com/rXDkMwsOyR
— NBA (@NBA) March 8, 2024

After a slightly off-night against Phoenix, Jokic balled out in his usual MVP form with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Jamal Murray was the Nuggets’ second-leading scorer with 19 points, but the difference makers for Denver were definitely Aaron Gordon (16 points, 9 rebounds) and Peyton Watson (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks). Gordon provided a huge spark on the offensive end, finishing strong at the rim on both alley-oops and put-backs. Watson provided fire on the defensive end, using his long arms to record two blocks. The second-year forward was also clutch in the fourth quarter, hitting timely shots to allow the Nuggets to hold on to the lead.

Nikola Jokic (32 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) recorded his 20th triple double of the season as the Nuggets beat the Celtics in Denver. (David Zalubowski/AP)

The Nuggets took a 90-80 lead in to the fourth quarter and held that lead for much of the quarter, but allowed the Celtics to slip back in to the game late.

Up 107-102, Jokic missed a shot over Kristaps Porzingis, put Aaron Gordon grabbed the rebound and slammed it down with one hand mid-air, blowing the roof off of Ball Arena.

This is the dunk of the year and you can’t tell me different pic.twitter.com/I3XxIgu9KM
— Nuggets World 🌎 (@NuggetsWorldd) March 8, 2024

But Denver allowed Boston to cut the lead to just two points (111-109) with 1:08 to play, following back-to-back threes from Jrue Holiday on the offensive end for the Celtics.

Jokic found Gordon again on an alley-oop, and the game was essentially iced at 113-109 with 19.1 seconds to play, and the Nuggets held on to win 115-109.

Jaylen Brown had an incredible 41 points in 41 minutes for the Celtics on 16-of-29 shooting along with 14 rebounds and 4 assists. But he didn’t get enough support from Boston’s leading man, Jayson Tatum, who notched just 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Center Kristaps Porzingis put up a cool 24 points for Boston, but did so on an inefficient 9-of-23 field goal shooting, including 3-of-10 from three-point land.

The Celtics were also sloppy with the ball, with Tatum recording a team-high five turnovers and Porzingis adding three of his own. As a team, Boston had 12 turnovers to Denver’s seven.

Also as a team, the Celtics shot 41-of-91 (45.1%) from the field and just 11-of-38 (28.9%) from three-point range, as well as a pretty poor 16-of-25 (64.0%) from the free throw line. The victorious Nuggets shot 45-of-90 (50%) from the field, an abysmal 4-of-21 (19.0%) from three-point range, and a near-perfect 21-of-22 (95.5%) at the line.

The Celtics still hold the best record in the NBA at 48-14 after the loss, with a commanding 7.5-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference, while the Nuggets are still 0.5 games behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and 1.0 games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Western Conference. The Nuggets and Timberwolves haven’t played since Minnesota won at home on November 1, but the two teams will meet three teams over the next month and a half, and the outcome of those games will play a crucial factor in deciding which team will earn the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Will the Nuggets earn the top seed in the West? Would Denver beat Boston in a potential 2024 NBA Finals matchup? To join the conversation, be sure to connect with Sak Sports Blog on Twitter or on Facebook!