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Tim Bontemps, ESPN
BOSTON — Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic spent the two days leading up to Friday night’s clash with the Boston Celtics grieving the death of Golden State Warriors assistant Dejan Milojevic.
He then went out and collected 34 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in 38 minutes of a 102-100 victory that ended Boston’s unbeaten home record (20-0) and honored the legacy of his former coach in their native Serbia in the process.
“As I mentioned to our team after the game, I couldn’t be more proud of Nikola for, for playing the way he played with, with the tragic passing of Decky,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s what you do, though. That’s why I’m proud of Nikola. You just lost somebody that you love and you care about that meant a lot to you, that was a mentor and a coach to you.
“So go honor him. You know what I mean? And Nikola went out there, he honored Decky’s memory and his legacy by playing at the level played at. Not easy to do with a heavy heart, but, Nikola is a special person, obviously, and it was incredible to watch him play with that heavy heart and the level he played at when you consider who we were playing and you add everything else to the mix.
“And that’s why Nikola is the best player in the world.”
Jokic is the defending NBA Finals MVP, and the Nuggets are the defending NBA champions. Those are the kinds of honors that Jayson Tatum and the Celtics hope to earn later this year. And this game easily could’ve been mistaken for one in the Finals due to the combination of high-level play, intensity and a typically raucous Friday night crowd at TD Garden.
The Celtics took a 98-95 lead with 4:58 to go in the fourth quarter, but they missed eight of their final nine shots — with Tatum going 1 for 5, missing the potential game-tying fallaway jumper in the closing seconds over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Tatum, who is 3 for 13 on game-tying or go-ahead field goal attempts in the final 10 seconds of fourth quarter and overtimes over the last two seasons, admitted afterward he rushed the shot, not knowing if Denver would use its final foul to give to force Boston, which was out of timeouts, to inbound the ball again.
“I think I kind of rushed it, and that’s on me,” he said. “In the back of my mind, I wasn’t sure if they were going to foul. They had a foul to give. But I had more time than I gave myself, so I should have taken some more time.
“But, can’t go back. Something I can learn from.”
It felt like a late-stage playoff game for many reasons — including Boston’s offense getting gummed up late. But while the Celtics would like to have several of those late shots back, including a couple of wide-open 3-pointers missed by Jaylen Brown and Derrick White with a minute to go, it was also a game where Denver’s stars carried the night.
Jokic and Jamal Murray (35 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) combined for 69 points on 29-for-43 shooting (5 for 11 from 3-point range).
Tatum and Brown, on the other hand, combined for 35 points on 15-for-43 shooting (2 for 17 from 3-point range).
Asked when he first felt like it would be such a good night, Murray said with a smile, “It should be [like that] every night.” He then went into the “technical” nature of the game and how both teams were throwing different looks at each other throughout.
“We mixed it up,” he said. “I think they did the same for a couple stretches. It was a technical game, you know what I’m saying? Because everyone on the court has to be on the same page. It felt like each timeout something was different. They came out in a 2-1-2 zone, then they put Jrue [Holiday] on me to start and JB (Brown) would press, sometimes they switch with pressing, sometimes they’d blitz, you know what I’m saying?
“Like I said, it was just one of those games where we had to figure it out, as well. Both teams, you know, were countering each other. It just kind of felt like that and just both throwing haymakers and we were able to have the final punch.”
Both teams, more or less, played playoff rotations. Aaron Gordon was on the court the entire second half, playing backup center for Denver — as he did during the title run — in an effort to slow Kristaps Porzingis after he scored 15 first-quarter points. The other elite players on both sides all played over 35 minutes — and at high intensity.
“You’re playing against the best team in the NBA,” Malone said. “It was like a playoff game. I know this is only Game 43, 44, whatever it is, but kind of like a playoff game, playoff atmosphere, and two really good teams. You know, they were in the Finals two years ago. They were in the Eastern Conference finals last year. They have high hopes, as do we.
“It was a game that we were all in. We put all of our chips in and we were lucky enough to get the outcome that we desired.”
Boston was just the 13th team in NBA history to start a season 20-0 at home, and it looked for long stretches like that streak would hit 21. In the end, though, it was the experience of Denver that won the night — and Jokic, playing with his mind and heart elsewhere, showing why he’s a two-time MVP and quickly ascending the list of all-time greats.
“It’s not an easy task, believe me,” Porzingis said of trying to slow Jokic. “He’s the main focus, obviously, and he still gets his numbers pretty much every night. He’s just that good.
“He’s not fast, he’s not anything but it’s just pure basketball talent. [He’s a] pure basketball mastermind.”