By the end, the Celtics were flexing and hollering. They were dunking and snarling. They were celebrating one of their better wins of the regular season.
But before Boston’s final, powerful wave, coach Brad Stevens knew his team could have faded instead. After possible MVP Nikola Jokic controlled most of the third quarter, Stevens saw the Celtics in a dangerous place.
“We needed something to get us going,” Stevens said. “We were close to going the other way there when it was 76-62.”
The Celtics didn’t break. Down two touchdowns late in the third quarter, they closed that period with a rush of defensive stops, then carried the success into a dominant fourth quarter. Boston pulled out the 105-87 win by outscoring the Nuggets 40-8 over the final 14 minutes, transforming a possible blowout loss into a comfortable road win.
