After a tough loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Celtics wrapped up their west coast road trip with a visit to the Mile High City to face off against the Denver Nuggets. With Nikola Jokic ruled out for this game, the Celtics were able to take care of business and defeated the Nuggets 118-106.

Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics with 29 points and 11 rebounds on 11-23 shooting while Kristaps Porzingis had one of his best games of the season finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds on 9-18 shooting. Jrue Holiday had a sneaky great game as well with 19 points and 7 assists as it felt like he was always in the right place at the right time.

While the Celtics’ three ball was lacking, they dominated the paint in this game, winning the points in the paint battle 60-46.

The Celtics offense started with a lot of Kristaps Porzingis touches as he scored the first basket for Boston with a mid-range jumper and 9 of the Celtics first 12 points. The Nuggets looked good on offense as well as Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, and Russell Westbrook carrying the load.

Porzingis finished the first quarter with 15 points on 6-10, including being the recipient of an alley-oop after Jayson Tatum blocked Christian Braun on one end and found Kristaps on the other.

The Celtics led 37-25 lead after the first quarter with their offense was clicking. Boston shot 14-27 (51.9%) in the quarter as the shorthanded Nuggets had no answers for them. Porzingis (15) and Tatum (11) combined for 26 of the Celtics’ 37 points in the quarter. Boston’s paint defense was elite as well, only allowing 2 points in the paint after one.

The Celtics continued their hot shooting to start the second quarter, as they opened a 15-point lead on the Nuggets two minutes in. Denver responded with a 13-2 run of their own to cut Boston’s lead to single digits.

Neemias Queta started to make his presence known with three straight buckets for the Celtics as he played some solid minutes for Boston in the quarter, finishing with 8 points.

Jamal Murray started to heat up to end the quarter scoring 8 straight points for Denver as Boston started to struggle to hit shots. Payton Watson started to make an impact on this game with 3 blocks in the first half and a corner three that tied the game 57-57 going into the half.

The Nuggets ended the first half on a 12-4 run and finished with four players with double digit points. Boston started the second quarter well but couldn’t maintain it as their three point shooting hurt them. The Celtics only shot 5-16 (31.3%) from beyond the arc in the half while Denver out shot them going 9-18 (50%) from three.

The Jays were cold in the first half as they combined for 15 points on 5-18 shooting. Jaylen Brown especially struggled, with only 2 points on 0-4 shooting. Kristaps Porzingis was the Celtics leading scorer at the half with 16 points while Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 15 points.

The second half started with Jaylen Brown facilitating the Celtics offense with three straight baskets and a nice assist to Porzingis to start the third quarter. The Nuggets were able to respond as the lead went back and forth.

A very loud “let’s go, Celtics” chant started to rain down in Ball Arena midway through the quarter just as Jrue Holiday grabbed a tough rebound and found a streaking Tatum on the other end for a dunk.

The Celtics were able to hold off the Nuggets with the lineup of Tatum and the bench to secure an 88-83 lead at the end of the third quarter. Jaylen Brown had a bounce back third quarter scoring 8 points on 4-4 shooting. The Celtics were still getting out shot from three, but they dominated the points in the paint battle.

The fourth quarter started similarly to the way the third quarter went, both teams trading baskets. The Celtics played some tough defense highlighted by Porzingis meeting DeAndre Jordan at the summit to block a potential poster dunk.

With Denver only having one timeout left midway through the quarter, the Celtics rattled off a 12-0 run to push their lead back up to double digits and force the Nuggets to use their final timeout with under five minutes left in the quarter. That run had everyone involved as it included a Porzingis put back dunk, a Holiday three, a Brown layup, an Al Horford three, and finally a nasty mid-range jumper by Jayson Tatum.

The Nuggets tried to fight back but they just didn’t have enough as Tatum and Holiday buried them down the stretch to give the Celtics the victory.

The Celtics return home for their next game on Friday, January 10th to take on the Sacramento Kings at 7:30 pm.

The Denver Nuggets have made a final determination on their sick MVP.

Sources inform Bennett Durando of The Denver Post that six-time All-NBA superstar center Nikola Jokic has been ruled out for Denver’s home game against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night with a worsening illness.

Jokic was a late addition to the Nugget’s injury report. Head coach Michael Malone told reporters this afternoon that the 6-foot-11 big man had first presented symptoms of an illness on Monday, and that his condition had declined Tuesday.

Read More: Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic Downgraded Ahead of Boston Battle

It had previously been announced that starting Denver power forward Aaron Gordon would also miss out on Tuesday’s action while he continues to recuperate from a calf strain.

Vinny Bennetto of The Denver Gazette reveals that, sans Jokic and Gordon, the Nuggets will start guards Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook, swingman Christian Braun, forward Michael Porter Jr. and reserve center Dario Saric.

Boston, meanwhile, will be without starting All-Defensive Team guard Derrick White, who himself is sidelined with what has been listed as a non-COVID-19 illness. That same undisclosed ailment is also hounding backup guard Jaden Springer.

Read More: Is Derrick White Playing vs Nuggets? Final Celtics Injury Report Revealed

Those aren’t the only absences for either squad, but those are the most impactful ones short-term.

Per the NBA’s most recent injury report, rookie wing Baylor Scheierman and all three of the Celtics’ two-way players — point guard JD Davison, plus forwards Anton Watson and Drew Peterson — are putting in reps with the club’s G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics.

Two Nuggets, meanwhile, continue to recuperate from major procedures. Guard Vlatko Cancar is on the mend from a left knee surgery, and center DaRon Holmes is working his way back from a right Achilles tendon repair. Elsewhere on Denver’s roster, small forward Spencer Jones remains shelves with a right adductor strain. Two-way player PJ Hall is on assignment to Denver’s G League squad, the Grand Rapids Gold.

The 26-10 Celtics are looking to improve from what — to them — has been something of a rut. The reigning champions have gone 5-5 across their past 10 contests, a fairly mediocre run for a club hoping to become the first repeat title winner since 2018. The 20-14 Nuggets, meanwhile, are hoping to do the improbable and win a game without their best player. They’ve gone 1-2 in such contests so far this season.

More Celtics: Boston Proving to be Historically Great on Road This Season