As the Celtics trended towards one other poor taking pictures efficiency, a weird scene unfolded Sunday evening in Denver.
Midway by means of the fourth quarter, Robert Williams flushed an alley-oop, held on the ring for a second, and set the rim askew. A couple of minutes later, employees at Ball Arena started making an attempt to repair the rim and make it stage once more. They in the end wanted to take off the rim and set up a brand new one.
When the 40-minute, unprecedented delay lastly neared its finish, gamers went by means of warmups as in the event that they had been about to start out a brand new sport.
But not even a brand new rim or recent begin may change the Celtics’ fortunes and supreme destiny.
As the Celtics turned the calendar to a brand new yr, one main difficulty that haunted them for almost all of December adopted. The Celtics went chilly from lengthy vary once more, and in contrast to their sturdy finish to final week’s homestand after they gained video games regardless of poor taking pictures, they couldn’t overcome it in a 123-111 loss to the West-leading Nuggets. It was their first defeat to the Nuggets since 2019.
“It was definitely a weird game,” Jaylen Brown instructed reporters in Denver. “I think the delay was longer than I thought it would be, and that definitely kicked our momentum a little bit. We were trying to get it going. But you have to give credit to Denver. They came out and played well. … Definitely one of the more weird games in my career.”
Brown scored 30 factors and Jayson Tatum had 25 factors, however neither of them had been a match for reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, who posted one other triple-double with 30 factors, 12 rebounds and 12 assists and had loads of assist from his teammates. Bruce Brown scored 21 and Bones Hyland was a thorn within the Celtics’ aspect with 17 because the Nuggets shot 17-for-30 from deep. The C’s went 9-for-33 from lengthy vary as they continued to overlook many wide-open seems to be.
Despite their unhealthy taking pictures – it was the sixth time within the final three weeks that the Celtics shot under 30 % from 3 – they hung round for many of the evening. But the Nuggets’ torrid second-half stretch from deep in the end buried them. Hyland hit back-to-back triples early within the fourth that pushed Denver’s result in 18 because the hosts went 11-for-18 from lengthy vary within the second half.
The Celtics’ effort was there, however they in the end couldn’t sustain with the Nuggets’ shot-making as they made a number of powerful, deflating photographs within the second half.
“I don’t think anything went particularly wrong,” Brown instructed reporters. “I think they just made a lot of shots. … Like, a lot of those are shots we wanted to live with. Bruce Brown, 4-for-6 from 3. Bones, he hit some tough shots as well. They just shot the hell out of the ball. 17-for-30 from 3, that’s an anomaly. Give credit to them.”
The C’s trailed by 13 when the sport went into its prolonged delay, however when play resumed, they couldn’t minimize it nearer than 10. They didn’t get a lot secondary scoring past Brown and Tatum. Derrick White scored 13 however nobody else completed in double figures. Despite their taking pictures points, the Celtics performed effectively in a number of elements. It left interim head coach Joe Mazzulla scratching his head.
“That was the query, like, ‘What do we do when the shots aren’t falling?’ We offensive rebounded, we bought to the free throw line, we bought out in transition, we shot 50 % from 2. We most likely didn’t shoot sufficient 3s. We ought to have shot a bit bit extra. … On the defensive finish, you simply have to remain poised and perceive that they’re hitting these photographs and simply attempt to tread alongside three, 4 stops in a row to get some simple baskets.
“It was one of those games where I don’t have a great feel on why it went the way it went, so I kind of want to study it more.”
Other takeaways and notes from Sunday’s loss:
– The Celtics dedicated the final word sin when enjoying the Nuggets: They couldn’t reap the benefits of Jokic being off the ground. The Nuggets led by 10 when Jokic left the sport late within the first, however fell behind additional whereas the reigning MVP sat on the bench.
The C’s minimize it to 5 early within the second quarter, however an unlucky name started a deflating stretch. Robert Williams was known as for a questionable goaltending name on a dunk. The Nuggets proceeded to go on a 9-2 run, and so they led by 15 when Jokic returned halfway by means of the interval because the Celtics struggled to shoot from deep.
But the C’s responded and gained the minutes with Jokic on the ground to finish the half, fueled by sturdy protection. They trailed by 13 going into the ultimate two minutes earlier than the lineup of Tatum, Brown, Marcus Smart, Al Horford and Robert Williams minimize the deficit to as small as six inside the ultimate minute and eight going into the half – a minor miracle after the Celtics shot 3-for-19 from 3 to start out the sport.
– The Celtics’ halftime deficit would have been a lot bigger with out Brown, who bought off to a scorching begin. He scored 12 of the Celtics’ first 14 factors and 14 within the first interval on 5-for-6 taking pictures. The remainder of the Celtics shot 5-for-18 within the opening quarter, together with Tatum who had only one level on three missed photographs as he began sluggish.
Brown had a centered mindset going into the sport.
“I was already preparing myself physically and mentally for a rough first game (of the road trip), knowing that the altitude, long flight and New Year’s celebration and all of that can be in account,” Brown instructed reporters. “I made sure I got my rest, made sure that I was prepared for today. Obviously it’s the first game of the new year and it’s a big matchup. Top team in the West versus the top team in the East, and I wanted to make sure I was ready.”
– Tatum was fouled exhausting on his left wrist by Jokic on a play within the third quarter. He appeared to be in some discomfort as he held on to his wrist – which was already wrapped – for a number of moments however he stayed within the sport.
– Mazzulla returned to the Celtics sidelines after lacking their wins over the Rockets and Clippers this week. The interim head coach suffered corneal abrasions in each of his eyes after what he described as a “freak accident” whereas enjoying a sport of pickup basketball final Tuesday.
Source: www.bostonherald.com