Denver Nuggets vs. Boston Celtics: NBA Match Preview & Prediction

The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets will meet at Ball Arena on Wednesday morning in what is perhaps one of the best NBA contests of the day.

In the Western Conference, the Nuggets have dropped to fourth place with a 20–14 record, while the Celtics have jumped to second place with a 26–10 record.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After Sunday's 122-111 overtime victory against the San Antonio Spurs in the second game of a back-to-back, the Denver Nuggets are riding a four-game winning streak.

With 46 points, nine assists, and ten rebounds, Nikola Jokic once again led the club in scoring. Michael Porter Jr. contributed 28 points and 10 boards, while Jamal Murray scored thirteen points.

Russell Westbrook passed Nuggets icon Alex English to become the 22nd all-time leading scorer in NBA history despite a very quiet performance. Westbrook finished with nine points, ten rebounds, six assists, and three steals.

The Joker tied the home-and-home series on successive nights with nine points in the extra time, but Michael Malone will be concerned that his bench players only managed 18 points compared to the Spurs' backups, who scored 41.

That made the Nuggets the third-highest scoring club in the NBA this season with 120.8 PPG, but their defense, which ranks 24th overall with 117.2 PPG allowed, could need some work.

The Boston Celtics, meantime, have been below par as of late, with a 5–5 record in their last 10 games including Sunday's 105–92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Celtics were led by Jayson Tatum (26 points, 10 rebounds), who was accompanied by Jaylen Brown (21 points, three assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (19 points, nine boards) in what many saw as a precursor to the NBA Finals this season.

Even though they were playing at full strength for the first time this season, the reigning champs were only able to muster 27 points in the second half against the best defense in the NBA. They were up by 10 points at halftime.

Notably, Jrue Holiday, Brown, and Derrick White did not manage to score a single point in the second half. They shot 0-13 from the field and 0-09 from beyond the arc in the last two quarters.

After the loss (OKC's fifteenth consecutive win), Joe Mazzulla's squad is still heavy favorites to retain their championship this season, but the odds have narrowed considerably, and the Thunder are now second-favorite by a hair.

While Boston is still a top-ten team on both sides of the court this season—they rank third in scoring (18.5 PPG) and sixth in defense (108.3 PPG)—their cover percentage has dropped to 40% (14-21-1 ATS).

Denver Nuggets x Boston Celtics Team News

Aaron Gordon, who has missed the last six games in a row owing to a calf strain and is still considered doubtful for Sunday's game against the Spurs, is one of many Nuggets players out with injuries.

A right adductor strain has cast doubt on Spencer Jones's availability, knee surgery has sidelined Vlatko Cancar for the time being, and a right ankle ailment has ruled out DaRon Holmes II.

After sitting out the last two games due to a shoulder injury he sustained in the Celtics' rout of the Raptors, Brown was given the all-clear in time for their showdown against the Thunder.

Mozilla may try to limit the playing time of Kristaps Porzingis, who has returned from injury for a second straight game, by starting Al Horford in central midfield for this encounter.

Our Predictions

Boston Celtics to win @ 1.50 on Sky247.ng

Although both teams have improved much since their preseason encounter in Abu Dhabi, the Nuggets are now riding high thanks to their recent victory against the Celtics.

On their day, Boston can destroy any team, but we think the hosts have a shot at beating the champions if Jokic keeps up his current dominance.

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