On January 8th, Beijing time, the NBA 2024-25 season regular season welcomes a focus battle between the East and West, with the Denver Nuggets hosting the Boston Celtics. This is the first matchup between the two teams this season. Last season's two encounters were won by the Nuggets, indicating that their playing styles are somewhat incompatible. However, the Nuggets have been struggling this season, relying heavily on Jokic to carry the team, with his personal statistics reaching the maximum. As NBA weekly MVP rankings writer Sean Powell said, "Why has Alexander performed so well yet still not ranked first in the MVP list? It's only because Jokic's performance this season is completely historical!"
It is worth noting that Jokic has ranked first in the MVP list for nine consecutive periods, which has also caused some controversy. However, this can also reflect Jokic's dominant performance this season from the side. In contrast, the Celtics have a deep lineup. They not only have the most luxurious starting five-man group in the entire league, but more importantly, their bench lineup also performs excellently. Pritchard, who is almost guaranteed to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, can even compete for the Most Improved Player award this season. As a substitute player, Pritchard has hit 5+ three-pointers in multiple consecutive games, the only one in the league; he has hit 100+ three-pointers in the first 26 games, surpassing Walker to become the fastest player in Celtics history.
The most interesting thing is that the Celtics average 50.2 three-point attempts per game this season, ranking first in the league; while the Nuggets average 31.1 three-point attempts per game, the least in the league. This is a matchup of two extreme styles in the league. Before the game, American media ESPN also timely gave the latest winning rate prediction for today's game, among which the Nuggets' winning rate is only 37.2%, while the Celtics' winning rate is as high as 62.8%. For the starting lineup of this game, on the Nuggets' side, Aaron Gordon, Kankar, Holmes, and Jones continue to be absent, and Jokic decided to miss the game due to illness before the game. Coach Malone's starting five are: Westbrook, Braun, Jamal Murray, Little Porter, and Saric; on the Celtics' side, Horford is healthy, and the starting lineup is: Tatum, Kobe White, Holiday, Jaylen Brown, and Porzingis.
In the first quarter, Murray started with a three-pointer, and Little Porter followed with a three-pointer, giving the Nuggets a 6-2 lead over the Celtics. Porzingis and Horford hit back-to-back threes immediately. Braun broke through and attracted the defense before passing the ball to the corner for Westbrook, who hit an open three-pointer, tying the score at 12-12. Porzingis completed a one-handed dunk after receiving the ball, and has now scored 9 points. Tatum made a full-court counterattack, forcefully pushing past Braun to complete a two-handed dunk, giving the Celtics a 4-point lead. Westbrook hit another three-pointer from the corner after being left open, having already made 2 threes in the first quarter. Tatum blocked Braun's layup with a nailboard cap, then assisted Porzingis with a fast break to complete an alley-oop dunk, ending the first quarter with the Celtics leading the Nuggets 37-25 by 12 points.
In the first quarter, Porzingis played 9 minutes, shooting 10 of 6 for 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal.
In the second quarter, Tatum drove to the basket and scored, then turned around to get past Murray for a 2+1 play. After Westbrook's turnover, Hauser hit a follow-up three-pointer, forcing the Nuggets to call a timeout with the Celtics leading by 15 points. Naji kicked Porzingis in a vital area while grabbing a rebound, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Westbrook made a no-look pass on the fast break, and Watson easily scored a layup. Murray broke through and attracted the defense before passing to Struthers for a three-pointer, and the Nuggets went on a 13-2 run to close the gap to 4 points. Jaylen Brown assisted Tatum on a fast break for a dunk to stop the bleeding. After being covered by Brown's defense, Murray made a difficult buzzer-beating floater with his left hand, then dribbled past Tatum for a layup, scoring 6 points in a row. Watson blocked Tatum with a volleyball-style cap, and Westbrook scored again on a fast break layup, ending the half with the Nuggets tied the score at 57-57.
At halftime, on the Nuggets' side, Westbrook shot 8 of 4, hitting 2 of 4 threes for 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block; Murray shot 12 of 6 for 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals. On the Celtics' side, Porzingis shot 11 of 6 for 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals; Tatum shot 14 of 5, missing all 6 threes for 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.
After the change of sides, Little Porter broke through the inside, leaping high to violently dunk over Porzingis, successfully securing a spot in today's top ten plays. Westbrook received the ball in the corner and hit another three-pointer against Jaylen Brown's defense, giving the Nuggets the lead. Holiday made a fast break assist, and Brown leaped high to complete a gliding dunk to stop the bleeding. Tatum accelerated past the defense and made a difficult layup in the paint, and Westbrook immediately responded with a wide-open three-pointer from the top of the arc. Tatum finally made his first three-pointer of the game after going 0 for 8 from beyond the arc. Murray broke through and attracted a triple-team before making a wonderful pass, and Watson leapt high to complete an alley-oop dunk. At the end of the third quarter, the Nuggets trailed the Celtics 83-88 by 5 points.
In the fourth quarter, Struthers stepped back and flew past Pritchard to hit a three-pointer, tying the score for the Nuggets. Holiday missed a layup, but Porzingis leapt high to complete a putback dunk, and Horford hit an open three-pointer, giving the Celtics a 10-0 run to lead by 10 points. The game was no longer in doubt, and ultimately, the Celtics defeated the Nuggets 118-106 in a comeback victory. Meanwhile, the Lakers reaped the benefits, further narrowing the win gap with the Nuggets.
For the whole game, on the Nuggets' side, Westbrook shot 18 of 9 for 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 8 turnovers; Murray scored 19 points with 4 rebounds and 4 assists; Little Porter contributed 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists; Struthers efficiently scored 19 points with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal. On the Celtics' side, Tatum shot 23 of 11 for 29 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks; Jaylen Brown contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 turnovers; Porzingis did his part, scoring 25 points with 11 rebounds and 2 steals; Holiday contributed 19 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block; Pritchard scored 3 points with 3 rebounds and 4 assists.