DENVER — Nikola Jokic had 30 points and 12 rebounds on a rough shooting night to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Boston Celtics 103-84 on Wednesday.
Denver played most of the game without guard Jamal Murray. He left after logging 7:51 due to an illness and did not return.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 14 points as the Nuggets bounced back from a 1-2 trip out of the All-Star break, which included a loss at Golden State on Sunday. They kept pace with Houston in the tight Western Conference standings. Denver is percentage points behind the Rockets for third place.
Jaylen Brown returned to Boston’s lineup after sitting out Tuesday night at Phoenix with a right knee contusion. Brown had 23 points for the Celtics, who finished 3-1 on a Western Conference trip. They had won five straight and nine of 10 before running out of steam in the thin air.
Colorado native Derrick White scored 18 of his 20 points in the second quarter.
Jokic struggled from the field and behind the arc. He shot 11 of 28 overall and was 4 of 13 on 3-pointers, but helped spark an 11-0 run to end the third quarter that gave Denver a 10-point lead heading into the final period.
The Nuggets extended the lead to 17 on Jonas Valanciunas’ tip-in midway through the fourth, and Boston coach Joe Mazzulla took out his starters.
Denver honoured Doug Moe with a tribute video at the first timeout. Moe, who won 432 games in his 10 seasons as the Nuggets’ coach, died Feb. 17 at 87. He led them to the Western Conference finals in 1985 and won two Midwest Division titles with Denver.
Celtics: Host Brooklyn on Friday night.
Nuggets: At Oklahoma City on Friday night.
