Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum put on a show. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP Boston shot over 60 per cent from the floor during that period, with Brown the best of the bunch as he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, putting up 12 points with four rebounds and three assists.
As for Denver, it was the usual suspects doing the damage, with Nikola Jokic (five points, five rebounds) and Michael Porter Jr. (five points) powering the offence.
Jokic finished the game with a team-high 29 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists while Jamal Murray had 14 points, 10 assists and four rebounds in the loss.
The Celtics opened the second quarter on another hot streak, pushing their lead out to 55-38 as Pritchard (six points, two rebounds) and Williams (six points) both making crucial buckets. Williams was also making an impact on the defensive end, coming up with a big block on a Bruce Brown layup.
Of course, Tatum (five points, one assist) also was heavily involved for Boston in that run before Denver started to mount a comeback to draw within nine points (66-57) at halftime.
The third quarter did little to separate the two sides either, with the Nuggets creeping even closer to trail 97-91 heading into the final 12 minutes of the game.
Hawks beat Harden-less 76ers | 01:52
Again, Tatum (nine points) and Brown (eight points) were getting going on the offensive end for Boston, scoring or assisting on all of the team’s first 15 points.
As for Denver, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started to find his rhythm from deep, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in the space of two minutes to help the Nuggets close the gap to 87-85.
That gap quickly widened again though as Horford and Tatum combined to score Boston’s first 16 points of the fourth quarter, with the Celtics jumping out to a 111-95 lead.
From that point it was all the Celtics to close the game as the Nuggets failed to get within single figures, finishing on the wrong end of a 131-112 scoreline.
Boston plays Detroit next while Denver will look to bounce back against Chicago.
MOST IMPROVED CONTENDER STARS IN UPSET WIN FOR MAGIC
Elsewhere, the Phoenix Suns suffered a heavy 114-97 loss to the Orlando Magic with Chris Paul (sore right heel) sidelined.
Australian Jock Landale (seven points, six rebounds) was solid in the defeat while both Cameron Payne (22 points, four assists, three rebounds) and Devin Booker (17 points, six assists, eight rebounds) both stuffed the stats sheet.
It was an all-round team effort from Orlando though, who had all starters finish in double figures as ‘Most Improved Player’ contender Bol Bol made a big impact on both ends of the floor with 13 points and 15 rebounds — his third double-double this season.
While the Suns were without Paul, the Magic had one absent star of their own with breakout rookie Paolo Banchero sitting out Saturday’s game with an ankle issue.
The rest of the Orlando starting unit stepped up in his absence though, with Jalen Suggs (16 points, five assists, three rebounds) impressing once again.
Suns coach Monty Williams described Wendell Carter Jr. as “underrated” pre-game but the center was getting plenty of praise after dropping a team-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists in the upset win.
The Magic finished the game shooting an impressive 45.5 per cent from 3-point land, much better than rivals Phoenix, who could only manage 31 per cent.
OTHER GAMES
KNICKS 121 PISTONS 112
