The Denver Nuggets are finally going to the postseason after a drought that lasted a total of 6 years. Nikola Jokic had 13 rebounds and 21 points, and the Denver Nuggets managed to rally during the 4th quarter to defeat the Boston Celtics in a great 114-105 victory on Monday evening. This allowed them to clinch their very first playoff berth since the 2012/13 season.
Denver Nuggets vs Boston Celtics
Will Barton managed to add 20 points for the Denver Nuggets who have now won a total of 4 consecutive games. The Denver Nuggets, with a 47-22 record, are currently tied with the Golden State Warriors for the best record within the Western Conference.
The Denver Nuggets managed to win a total of 46 matches in the previous season. However, they, unfortunately, missed the playoffs after they lost against Minnesota during overtime on the final day of the NBA regular season. Thankfully, this season, their 47th win worked like a charm.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,” Michael Malone stated in a recent interview who is the head coach for the Denver Nuggets. “This has taken us four years to achieve. Two consecutive years are coming up just short. We will be using that as tonight’s motivation moment.”
There were loads of smiles in the locker room of the Denver Nuggets after the game.
“We are just going to enjoy this,” Jamal Murray stated. “We are going to take a moment and realise how far we’ve come this season. It’s fantastic to look ahead at the moment while enjoying it at the same time.”
Boston Celtics
Kyrie Irving was leading the Boston Celtics with a total of 30 points, while Al Horford managed to finish with 20 points, six assists and six rebounds. This was the Celtics second loss in 7 matches.
“You need to play exceptionally well for 48 minutes against the Nuggets,” Irving stated. “They managed to come back from 18 down and kept firing.”
The Boston Celtics are currently 5th in the Eastern Conference, one and a half games behind Indiana in 4th place and two and a half games behind the 76ers who they will face on Wednesday. This match essentially felt like a game between 2 postseason teams. The game remained tight during the second half, with no team having more than a two-possession lead during the third quarter.
However, the Denver Nuggets managed to get some breathing room during the final period and to an impressive 106-94 lead with only 3:47 remaining on the clock. The Boston Celtics managed to score seven successive times to get within 5 points. However, Barton managed to stop the run thanks to a layup. After Horford missed a 3-pointer, Paul Millsap managed to seal the deal with a 4-point play that allowed the Denver Nuggets to stretch their lead to 112-101 with only 31.3 seconds left on the clock — well deserved to the Nuggets. Now let’s see how they do in the playoffs.