After surrendering a 22-point lead in the fourth quarter to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and an 11-game winning streak, the Boston Celtics might enter Thursday’s marquee matchup with the Denver Nuggets, shorthanded.
Jaylen Brown, who scored 21 points in Tuesday night’s 105-104 loss to Cleveland, is listed as questionable for Boston’s trip to Denver (sacroiliac strain), per team announcement. That could leave the Celtics down a starter, meaning head coach Joe Mazzulla could bump Sam Hauser or Al Horford into the starting lineup depending on specific man-to-man matchups.
Despite Denver being the defending NBA Finals champions, Boston could use a response, even if that requires overcoming the hurdle of Brown’s absence. In their previous loss to the Cavaliers, the Celtics crumbled at every chance to put the game away, shooting 8-of-25 from the floor while allowing Cleveland’s Dean Wade to score 20 points in the fourth quarter. Uncharacteristic, but enough reason to be urgent and proactive in getting back to the win column.
Without one of Boston’s two co-stars, that becomes a bit more difficult.
#NEBHInjuryReport for tomorrow at Denver:
Jaylen Brown (sacroiliac strain) – QUESTIONABLE
Neemias Queta (right knee hyperextension) – OUT— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 6, 2024
After attempting zero shots amid Boston’s fourth-quarter meltdown, Brown didn’t make any excuses or chalk the loss up as a learning experience.
“That’s what happens when you don’t match the gas and take the little things for granted throughout the game, and you let a team stick around, and they still NBA players and tip your cap,” Brown told reporters, per CLNS Media. “Dean Wade, he got hot. We wasn’t expecting or accounting for that, but we still should’ve won this game.”
The Celtics hadn’t lost a game since Feb. 1, marking 29 days without surrendering any ground in the Eastern Conference standings. Although the team’s 13th loss of the season didn’t create any significant shift in the standings, getting back on track and making the necessary readjustments against one of the powerhouses of the Western Conference would benefit Boston ahead of its upcoming playoff run.
Boston dropped its first matchup with Denver, 102-100, back in January.
