NBA highlights on March 7: Gap between regular season leaders and reigning champions

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics 115-109 at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Thursday, beating the NBA leaders in both of their meetings during the regular season.

The Celtics' second-in-command, Jaylen Brown, was listed as questionable for the game but cleared to play right before the contest. At least on the court, he didn't seem to be held back by any injury or illness, shouldering the team's biggest offensive load, going 16-for-29 from the field and scoring a game-high 41 points and 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. If there was anything that Brown could have done better, his shooting performances from downtown (2-for-7) and at the free throw line (7-for-14) could use some improvement.

However, the Celtics were trailing for nearly the whole game on Thursday night. The underperformance of their ace, Jayson Tatum, was part of the reason. He only took a total of 13 field goal (FG) shots and missed eight of them to get only 15 points. Kristaps Porzingis, who was supposed to be their biggest weapon against Nikola Jokic, made only nine of his 23 shots, including three out of 10 attempts outside the 3-point line. In fact, the whole team of the Celtics, which shot (42.3) and made (16.3) the most triples at the league's fourth-highest rate (38.6 percent) per game this season, went as poorly as 11-for-38 behind the arc against the Nuggets.

Nonetheless, the Celtics' disappointing 3-point shooting performance was not the biggest reason behind their loss in Thursday's game, or even the biggest gap between them and the reigning champions, because the Nuggets made only four triples out of 21 attempts. The decisive difference between the two teams was in their way of running the game, which stats couldn't reveal perfectly.

The Nuggets did their homework well over why the Celtics were so unstoppable this season. They slowed down to launch a half-court offense in nearly every possession unless there were perfect opportunities for a fast break. If they missed a shot or turned the ball over, the Nuggets returned to defense very quickly. As a result, one of the Celtics' sharpest weapons, transition offense, was neutralized.

The Celtics studied the Nuggets' game as well. That's why they didn't double-team Jokic or put help defense on him unless he had the ball near the rim or drove toward the rim. However, what makes Jokic an effective offensive center is his large arsenal of weapons, which he put on display again on Thursday. When the Celtics attempted to block him from passing, he destroyed every defender in front of him. When the Celtics had second thoughts, Jokic continuously fed his teammates for easy buckets.

That's why Jokic got his 32 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the following way: five and four assists in the first and third quarters, and 13 points in the second period. He always found a way to hit the Celtics in their defensive weak spot. Tatum couldn't do the same at the other end. He became a dud when he was stripped of 3-point shooting and fast breaks. He was at the bottom among team aces in clutch time points and efficiency for the same reason: Tatum lacks counter moves that work when regular ways are shut down.

The same could be said about the whole team of the Celtics too. Their NBA's No. 1 offense was built on constantly making 3-pointers and launching uninterrupted fast breaks. When both or either ceased to work, they fell into struggle and had no backup plan. By contrast, the Nuggets moved the ball through at least four players in most of their attacks and always had a new player step out to surprise the defenders. For example, when both Jokic and Jamal Murray couldn't score in the fourth quarter, Aaron Gordon added eight key points to make sure that their side won in the end.

Other games on Thursday (away teams come first):

Miami Heat 108-114 Dallas Mavericks

Luka Doncic dropped a 30+ point triple-double of 35 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. This was the fifth straight game for him to get numbers like this, and his side finally won after suffering three consecutive losses. They trailed by as many as 15 points on Thursday night. From 6:34 to 2:28 in the final period, Doncic made two triples and assisted one to lead the Mavericks to come back from a one-point deficit (98-97) to sit on a five-point lead (106-101).

In his sixth NBA season, Doncic now has 90 triple-doubles, the ninth-most of all-time; 12 of them included 30+ points and happened in the 2023-24 campaign, more than anyone else; he scored at least 35 points in nine games this season when the rest of the players did it seven times.

San Antonio Spurs 129-131 Sacramento Kings

As the Spurs failed to overcome the 20-point deficit at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California, on Thursday, they suffered their fifth loss in the regular season and became the first team to kiss the playoffs goodbye.

The Kings made good use of Victor Wembanyama's absence to go 38-for-55 in the Spurs' paint and get 76 points there. The team also grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, five of which came from Domantas Sabonis. He was one assist away from dropping a triple-double that included 31 points and 17 rebounds. De'Aaron Fox contributed 33 points for the Kings.

Brooklyn Nets 112-118 Detroit Pistons

Minnesota Timberwolves 113-111 Indiana Pacers

Toronto Raptors 113-120 Phoenix Suns

Chicago Bulls 125-122 Golden State Warriors