Nikola Jokic pours in 30 as Nuggets pull away from Celtics
Nikola Jokic compiled 30 points and 12 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets rallied past the Boston Celtics 103-84 on Wednesday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 14 points, Julian Strawther finished with 12 and Cameron Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas had 11 each for Denver, which played most of the game without Jamal Murray.
The All-Star guard played the first 7:51 of the game before leaving due to an illness. He was listed as questionable to return but didn't play again.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Derrick White scored 20 points and Neemias Queta contributed 10. The Celtics had won four in a row and nine of the past 10, and they ended their Western Conference road trip 3-1.
The Nuggets have alternated losses and wins over their past eight games.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. Boston hit just 40.9% of its shots, including a 7-for-24 effort (29.2%) from 3-point range, while the Nuggets shot 33.3% overall and 8-for-29 (27.6%) from deep.
White was the only player who found a rhythm in the first half. After he was held scoreless in the first quarter, the Colorado native scored 18 of the Celtics' 24 points in the second, when he hit 4 of 5 attempts from 3-point range.
Down by one at halftime, Denver continued to struggle at the start of the third quarter, missing four of its first five shots and turning it over twice before surging at the end of the period.
After the Nuggets were down 67-66, Hardaway and Johnson made layups, Spencer Jones scored after a Nikola Vucevic miss at the other end, and Jokic drained a 3-pointer. Brown's turnover led to a dunk by KJ Simpson that gave the Nuggets a 77-67 lead heading into the fourth.
Valanciunas scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter to give Denver an 14-point lead. Baylor Scheierman ended the Celtics' drought with a 3-pointer, but Hardaway answered with a trey at the other end and Jones split a pair of free throws.
Valanciunas stretched the lead to 89-72 with a putback, and Boston sat its starters for the rest of the game with 5:33 remaining.