DENVER — Sometimes, the travel catches up. A week-long road trip on the West Coast right after the All-Star break. Three games in four nights to end it. And, the cherry on top, a road-road back-to-back, with the latter game taking place 5,280 feet above sea level.
The Denver Nuggets welcomed the Boston Celtics to Ball Arena with open arms. And then closed arms. And chest bumps. And shoves.
In what was a very physical game by both teams, what happened? How did the Celtics lose by 19? And how is the national media getting it wrong?
1. Physical defense
Denver didn’t give Boston any room to breathe. Whether it was in the pick-and-roll, in isolation, or any other situation, they did everything in their power to make the Celtics’ ball-handlers uncomfortable.
“They were physical, yeah. You have to give them credit,” Joe Mazzulla said post-game. “They were very physical at the point of attack. They were good switching up their matchups a little bit, but I thought they were just physical at the point of attack, and they defended us well.”
The pick-and-roll, in particular, got tough for the Celtics as the night went on. Derrick Whitedid a good job of running the show, but Denver slowly upped its pressure against Boston’s top ball-handlers.
Jaylen Brownbattled through a ton of physicality, too. After missing the Celtics’ Tuesday night game against the Phoenix Suns, he returned to action Wednesday and was met with a wall of Nuggets.
Look at Julian Strawther here. He’s grabbing Brown before the ball even gets to him. Trying to make life as hard as possible for the Celtics star. (And Cameron Johnson got into Baylor Scheierman’sspace on the play, too.)
“I think they were physical. I don't think it was the most physical game we've ever had,” White said. “But we just kind of have to move the ball a little faster. If we move it quicker, then it's hard for them to be physical. So, I think we did a lot of good things. Just didn't go our way today.”
The Celtics’ offense never found a rhythm in this game, and the Nuggets’ physicality certainly played a role.
2. Missed shots
Though Denver’s defense was impressive, Boston also missed a ton of open looks. Brown and White created plenty of two-on-one opportunities, and the Celtics moved the ball well (in the first half especially), but the results didn’t match the process.
“I think we just had a tough time tonight converting,” Brown said. “I thought we got a lot of great looks, some open catch-and-shoots, and we just didn't convert. So, move on to the next. Tough night shooting the ball. The physicality was pretty good tonight, but I thought we just didn't convert on the offensive end. That kind of spilled over to the defense a little bit.”
Even when the Celtics were on the brink of a comeback, they fell short.
Because they couldn’t hit anything.
Anything.
There are other reasons the Celtics lost on Wednesday night. Plenty of them. But it certainly wasn’t their night shooting the ball. And sometimes, that’s just the way it goes.
3. The national media’s wrongdoing
ESPN plastered it all over social media after the game:
‘NIKOLA JOKIC IS UNGUARDABLE’
JOKIC WAS UNGUARDABLE AGAINST THE CELTICS 🔥 Dropped 30 PTS, 12 REB, and 6 AST for the home W 😤 pic.twitter.com/snpPhXi0mK— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 26, 2026
Nikola Jokicis the best basketball player on the planet. On any given night, he could explode for a 40-point triple-double.
On Wednesday night, he shot 11-of-28. Boston’s defense pigeon-holed him into taking a season-high 13 three-pointers. Jokic was not the issue.
If anything, the Celtics defended Jokic exactly how they wanted to.
They funnelled him into taking threes, sent help in the paint when necessary, and contested well when he was taking shots inside. It was a well-executed game plan, and the Nuggets (the NBA’s best offense) only scored 103 points.
In fact, outside of a near-four-minute stretch at the beginning of the third quarter, Jokic shot just 7-of-22. He went 4-of-5, enjoyed a mini run, and Boston clamped down again.
Denver’s defense won them this basketball game.
4. The run that ended it all
Boston held on in the first half. They couldn’t score the ball, but it was still a one-point game heading into halftime.
But when the late third quarter came around, everything fell apart.
“It was a combination of we missed shots, a combination of a couple live-ball turnovers, and then they just got out in transition,” Mazzulla said. “I think they had half of those, what was it, an 11-0 run? Came through transition off of either some of our missed shots, a missed rim-read, or just a turnover.”
Denver got out and ran with the ball in the final few minutes of the third. In the final 1:57 of the frame, they went on an 11-0 run to take a 10-point lead into the fourth.
During that time frame, the Celtics missed two layups and turned the ball over once. But a missed layup is just as bad as a turnover because of positioning.
Whoever misses the layup ends up way under the basket, effectively giving the opponent a four-on-five fastbreak.
Boston’s end to the third was the nail in the coffin on Wednesday night.
5. Nuggets dominated offensive glass
Denver only scored 103 points on Wednesday night. Of those points, 23 came off second-chance opportunities. The Nuggets grabbed 14 offensive rebounds.
“I thought they made a conscious effort [to attack the offensive glass], especially in that first half,” Mazzulla said. “They made a conscious effort [on] the offensive glass, for sure. But somehow, they only had three more shots than us at halftime. I thought it felt like a little bit more, but yeah.”
Despite running some double-big lineups with Nikola Vucevic and Neemias Queta, the Celtics still got worked on the offensive glass. (For the first time in a while, it seemed.)
6. It happens
It’s not what anyone wants to hear after a 19-point loss, but these games are an inevitability in the NBA. Sometimes, the shots just don’t fall.
Sometimes, tired legs catch up to you. Sometimes, a long road trip creates fatigue. Sometimes, physicality bothers you more than usual.
The ugly ending may leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths, but the Celtics went 3-1 on a West Coast road trip against four playoff teams.
Not half bad.
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