Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Christian Braun scored 24 for Denver, which has lost three of its last five games.

"I think for any player, you never want to be that guy that teams are targeting," Michael Malone said. The post Celtics’ strategy against Nuggets star could be taken as ‘sign of disrespect’, coach says appeared first on Boston.

It looked like the final meeting of the regular season between the last two NBA champions was going to get away from Denver at times, but Jamal Murray's big second half gave the Nuggets a chance in Boston.

Nikola Jokic had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Christian Braun scored 24 for Denver, which has lost three of its last five games.

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, center, pursues the ball as Boston Celtics guard Derrick White, left, and center Luke Kornet, behind, defend in the second half of an NBA basketball

The Boston Celtics came dangerously close to blowing yet another 20-point lead Sunday afternoon before some late-game heroics from Derrick White helped seal a narrow win over the Denver Nuggets. The post Celtics Avoid Third-Straight Loss Behind Derrick White's Clutch Performance appeared first on Stadium Rant.

The Boston Celtics avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season on Sunday, thanks in large part to a vintage performance by Al Horford.

The Celtics controlled the game from the start and this time closed the game out against a potential contender.

Boston had two bigs — Al Horford and Luke Kornet — in the starting lineup with center Kristaps Porzingis sidelined by an illness, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s approach to containing Jokic was centered around limiting everything around the Nuggets star.

Two days after surrendering big lead to Cavaliers, Boston makes clutch plays in final minutes to hold off Denver.

The Celtics were able to avoid blowing a 20-point lead for the second straight game due to some clutch shot-making.