The Boston Celtics have won four of their past five games to climb above the .500 mark, but that record will be tested over the next week.
Boston heads out on a three-game Western Conference trip to some tough cities. First stop is Denver for a Sunday matinee game against one of the hottest teams in the league before dates in Portland and Los Angeles against the Lakers.
The Nuggets have won eight straight and 17 of their past 20, including the past three without second-leading scorer Jamal Murray, who is sidelined with right-knee soreness. Denver has yet to lose in the seven games since acquiring Aaron Gordon and JaVale McGee in separate trade deadline deals and can make it a perfect four-game homestand with a win over the Celtics on Sunday.
Boston is coming in with some momentum and history. The Celtics rallied at home to beat Minnesota in overtime on Friday night, but the talk of the night was the career-high 53 points by Jayson Tatum. At 23 years and 37 days, Tatum became the youngest Celtic to score 50 or more points in a game.
Larry Bird had the distinction until Friday. Bird was 26 years, 113 days old when he eclipsed the mark on March 30, 1983.
Tatum enjoyed the moment after Friday’s win.
“It will be a night I’ll always remember,” he said. “My first 50-point game, (and) we got the win on top of that. I just grew up wanting to be in the NBA when I was a kid. Now I’m living out my dream at a high level, and it’s more than I could have ever wished for.”
The celebration might not last if Boston can’t contain Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets’ center had his 13th triple-double of the season and 54th of his career in Friday’s 121-119 win over the San Antonio Spurs. He has put himself into strong contention for the MVP Award this year, especially now that Denver is winning game after game.
If coaches had an MVP vote, San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich would be leaning toward the 7-foot Serbian.
“That’s why they’re a hell of a team,” Popovich said after his team’s second loss to the Nuggets in three nights. “Jokic is maybe the best passer in the league. (He is) certainly the best big-man passer and better than most wings. So, sure, he sets the table for everybody; he’s great.”
Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. have benefited from Jokic’s court vision. Porter had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win, the fifth time in the past seven games he has recorded a double-double.
Denver’s winning streak has enabled coach Mike Malone to sit Murray. The Nuggets have been thinner in the back court with him out and the team trading guards Gary Harris and RJ Hampton to Orlando in the Gordon deal, so they signed Shaq Harrison to a two-way deal on Friday for depth reasons.
“If you look at his body of work, the games he’s played in the NBA, I think a thing that stands out for me is he is a tremendous defensive player at the guard position,” Malone said.
–Field Level Media
