Nuggets Run Away From Celtics In Third Quarter: Four Reasons They Lost and Player Grades

The Celtics hung around for about two-and-a-half quarters, but then Denver went on a huge run and Boston seemed to succumb to the fatigue of three-games-in-four-nights. The win streak is over after a 103-84 loss.

Box Score

Game Flow

Both teams struggled offensively in a back-and-forth first quarter, but Jaylen Brown was able to carry the Celtics to a 24-21 lead. Neemias Queta had some good minutes early on, making things somewhat difficult on Nikola Jokic, who had nine points but on 4-11 shooting. The Nuggets aren’t known for taking three-pointers, but they shot 15 in the first quarter.

Derrick White helped the offense get going in the second, but their inability to rebound let the Nuggets hang around. White ended up being the entire offense, scoring 18 of Boston’s 24 points to help them maintain a one-point halftime lead. It helped that Jamal Murray left the game with an illness and didn’t play after the first quarter

The Celtics, Brown in particular, came out aggressive in the third to draw a bunch of early fouls and get into the bonus with nearly eight minutes left. They didn’t take advantage of it, though. The two bonus Neemias Queta free throws ended up being the only bonus free throws Boston took in the quarter.

The Nuggets closed the third quarter on an 11-0 run, which they extended to 15-0 at the start of the fourth, and that was essentially the end of the game.

Here are four reasons why they lost.

They lost their legs

One sequence told me a lot about how these guys were feeling. Late in the second quarter, Ron Harper Jr. took a three-pointer and missed it off the front of the rim. He got another three on the next possession and he overcompensated and sent it long. Both shots were on line, but he couldn't dial it in.

The Celtics shot 12-43 from three, and of those 31 misses, 18 of them were short. A handful were long, but on line. So they were mostly on target, but they couldn't find the legs to get the power right. Ending the road trip in Denver on the third game in four nights and the back-end of a back-to-back was always going to be tough.

The Celtics got sloppy

A close cousin of losing their legs was losing their discipline when the Nuggets ramped up their defense. Boston turned the ball over 14 times for 14 points, losing that margin by nine points.

I know some people want to call it an excuse, but this is all part of being tired. They didn’t have the legs, they were uncharacteristically sloppy, and then …

Their rebounding failed them

… They just got away from boxing out like they did all road trip. Rebounding is effort, and being too tired to give that full effort cost them. Denver had 14 offensive rebounds and 23 second chance points. Boston just had nine of each.

Protecting the ball and clearing rebounds were key to putting a win streak together, and they couldn't much of either in this game.

They got nothing from the bench

Nikola Vucevic and Payton Pritchard combined to shoot 2-13 for five points. Those were the only bench points until garbage time. The Nuggets bench scored 35 in the meaningful portion of the game.

Player Grades:

Neemias Queta: B+

His defense on Nikola Jokic was actually pretty good. Yes, Jokic went for 30, but the matchup data will be interesting. I think his time against Queta will be the lowest percentage for Jokic, who didn’t have a very efficient night as it was (11-28 shooting, 4-13 3pt).

Derrick White: B

He and Baylor Scheierman combined for seven of Boston’s 12 three-pointers, and White’s second quarter was a key to keeping Boston in the lead. But he only scored two points outside of that quarter, taking only five shots in the second half.

Boston’s inability to ride hot hands is a little too problematic.

Jaylen Brown: B

He was great in the first quarter, scoring 12 of his 23 points on 4-8 shooting. But then he got too mixed up in the lack of calls. Even when he has a point, the mid-play arguing can still be problematic. He did have 11 rebounds, but he also had four turnovers, and he shot 7-21 (1-6 3pt). So efficiency is still a problem.

Baylor Scheierman: C+

He was 3-8 from three, but he struggled in the areas where he’s otherwise excelled on the road.

Sam Hauser: C+

Just five points on five shots, but he was -2 in the game, he best non-garbage time +/-.

Nikola Vucevic: D

He had a rough night, shooting 1-7 and missing all four of his three-pointers. Denver could have let him shoot all night long without worrying.

Payton Pritchard: D

Tough night for a stinker. Denver was too long and too physical for him in this situation.