National Basketball Association

Takeaways and Grades for Denver's 123-107 win over Boston

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:50 p.m. ET

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Nov 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) battles with Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) for the ball during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets bounced back in Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics. They ended up beating the Celtics by 16 points en route to their third win of the season.

Gary Harris returned to the starting lineup as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics 123-107 Sunday night. Although Harris di d play a major role, it was Emmauel Mudiay who directed the team to victory. Lead by a 24-point Mudiay first quarter, Denver got a lead and kept it for all 4 quarters.

Mudiay’s confidence was on full display, and should only grow from here. Mudiay started the season off on a bad foot, and every Nuggets fan will hope that this game will finally let it permanently click for him.

	1	2	3	4	T
Nuggets	42	35	26	20	123
Celtics	23	29	31	24	103

Denver really showed their size and strength in this bounce back win. In a solid team win, the Nuggets boasted 5 players in double digit scoring. They also led in many defensive categories.

Let’s break down this game further to see how the Nuggets destroyed the Celtics tonight:

Nov 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari (8) dunks the ball past Boston Celtics center Tyler Zeller (44) and forward Amir Johnson (90) during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive takeaways

The Nuggets gained a 19 point lead after the first quarter, and never looked back from there.

Mudiay’s 24 points in 1st quarter were amazing. We got a real view of Mudiay’s talents on full display, and even saw a lot of improvement in his Jump shot. Mudiay was almost unstoppable, as he hit 3 3-pt shots in a row in the first quarter. He was on fire. After a Boston timeout to, he came back in to complete a couple pretty turnaround jumpers. Although he did not score in second, he flashed excellence in to night’s game. He was relaxed, and showed very high confidence. The bench kept his ego high as he wowed on the court. Mudiay ended up tying his career high 30 points, with 3/5 from 3pt range, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, and a disappointing 7 turnovers.

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Led by Mudiay, the Nuggets scored 77 points in the half (which is the current NBA season high by any team). They were shooting 64% FG% at half, 4/8 from 3pt, 15/20 from the Free Throw line, and 28 bench points to Boston’s 17.

But really, everyone contributed tonight.

Wilson had 15 in the second off the bench. He wowed the Boston crowd with a couple great drives to the hoop in the first and second half. Chandler always seemed to provide offense when the Nuggets needed it, and in thte most well rounded way possible. Wilson’s shooting touch, slashing skill, and strength near the hoop lead to some pretty impressive plays. Chandler Left in the 3rd quarter with left hamstring tightness and did not return, but finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Gary Harris was also solid offensively, which Denver needed with Will Barton out. Gary got in foul trouble early and played limited minutes, but still finished with 12 points 4 rebounds, 1 assist.

Jusuf Nurkic is big, fast, and athletic. He was especially hard to deal with his size advantage over Tyler Zeller. He really needs to work on finishing with his left after nice spin move so he can convert on the and-one more frequently. Nurkic finished with 4 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Nikola Jokic was showing his usual craftiness around the basket. Tough for smaller Boston defenders to deal with, just like Nurkic. Jokic finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Kenneth Faried showed great energy, Rebounding and cutting hard to the hoop. His activeness on the floor was even creating open lanes for other Nuggets. He had a couple key offensive putback shots, and seemed to get to the Free throw line at ease. After a great 4th quarter, Faried finished with a double-double, 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 1 assist.

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Danilo Gallinari was draining threes in the second half to maintain the Nuggets 20 point lead. He also slashed through the lane for a huge dunk in the second half. Gallo finished with 16 point, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Jameer Nelson was a solid veteran as usual, commanding the Nuggets late and finishing with 9 points and 7 assists

After so many strong offensive performances, let’s see how the Nuggets fared on the other side of the ball:

Nov 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Denver Nuggets Guard Gary Harris (14) and Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) battle for a loose ball during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Defensive takeaways

The Nuggets strong defense early kept them in the lead for the entire game. They were solid inside, causing easy offense on the fast break. They limited turnovers early, which helped keep the lead at 20+ points for the first half.

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Denver continues to protect the paint well. Especially with Jurkic in the lineup, the Nuggets have a lot of size that is hard to compete with. It seems like one of the Jurkic combo is always in the lane to swat at any incoming traffic. This seemed to limit Isaiah Thomas greatly in the first half. The nuggets finished with 6 blocks in the game.

Fareid was on full display tonight, showing his great defensive energy. He was taking charges and flying for rebounds to give the Nuggets second chance points.

Overall Denver showed great rebounding, using size advantage over smaller Boston (smallest average roster height in the NBA this season). They finished with 47 rebounds, compared to Boston’s 39. That, added on to the 7 steals gave the Nuggets a definite defensive edge in this game.

Let’s check on the overall team grades:

Feb 21, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Celtics defeated the Nuggets 121-101. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Team Grade B-

Boston did not play a bad game by any means, but could not come back from the deficit created in the first quarter.

Their defense was weak at times, allowing a couple different Nuggets to get on hot streaks at multiple points throughout the game. They hung with the Nuggets throughout the game, but could not dig themselves out of the hole created by Mudiay’s first quarter explosion.

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Isiah Thomas is a special talent, leading Boston with 30 points and 5 assists. The Celtics really need Al Horford back very badly. (And Jae Crowder would help as well)

They showed that they need help with size and defensive presence, and that is exactly what Horford and Crowder should provide.

Nov 6, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) tries to gain control of the ball while Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) defends during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Nuggets Team Grade A

The Denver Nuggets showed some of the potential that fans have been waiting for all off season. This one was definitely a team effort. Lots of players were contributing, and the team was really starting to gel. Denver players seemed to be finding their roles offensively and defensively this season.

The Nuggets were not really turning ball over in First half (although that changed quickly in the second). They had a shaky start to the second half, but turned it around. The Nuggets were offensively on fire tonight as they crossed 100 points with about a minute left in the 3rd quarter, leading 103-83 to end the 3rd.

Denver needs to focus on limit turnovers (17), as they got a little sloppy at times in the second half. Overall, this was a great win, as Denver set 3 new season highs for points made (123), 3 point FG made (11), and FG made (44). If the Nuggets can stay on this trend, their development should be on full display in the near future.

The Nuggets are now 3-3, and they will continue their road trip as they will take on Memphis on Tuesday. Hopefully the Nuggets can continue their confidence and team play as they hope to take it to Memphis.

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