Celtics-Nuggets Notebook: Kristaps Porzingis has ‘big-time’ game, Denver is Celtics nation, Joe Mazzulla calls it

DENVER – “We were supposed to be 4-0, but next best was 3-1,” Joe Mazzulla said after the Celtics defeated the Nuggets 118-106 to end a four-game road trip.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 29 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, continuing a strong stretch of individual basketball.

Jrue Holiday had his highest scoring game in over a month, recording 19 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

And Kristaps Porzingis finished with 25 points on 9-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, taking advantage of mismatch after mismatch.

The road trip was highlighted by a last-second win against the Timberwolves, a blowout of the Rockets and a comfortable win against the Nuggets. And of course, there was the second-half collapse against the Thunder that marked the only loss of the week.

Still, despite the ups and downs of the past month, the Celtics improved to 27-10 on the season with Tuesday’s win — good for third-best in the NBA. (For reference, the Celtics had a 28-9 record through 37 games last season).

Here are three things you need to know from the Denver location.

Add Ball Arena to the list of NBA arenas taken over by Celtics fans

It was an inspiring effort for the Denver Nuggets, who hung in this one most of the night despite being without both Nikola Jokic (illness) and Aaron Gordon (calf strain). The Celtics jumped out to a 15-point lead in the first half, only to see it fade away as the Nuggets outscored them by 12 in the second quarter, with Russell Westbrook (26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jamal Murray (19 points ) , 4 assists) leading the charge.

It’s the kind of shorthanded comeback run that would normally drown out an opposing team’s fan base — but even during that stretch, the Celtics fans in attendance were audible.

As such, the game never felt like one genuine road game where thousands of Celtics fans made their presence felt every time their team scored. The same was true in Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, Brooklyn and several other cities the Celtics traveled to this season.

By the fourth quarter, the Celtics had a double-digit lead for good — and if you didn’t know better, you’d think the game was being played in New England, not across the country in Colorado.

The only stop on the Celtics’ road trip that felt like a true road game was Oklahoma City — in Denver, “Let’s Go Celtics” chants broke out sporadically throughout the game, even when momentum was on the Nuggets’ side.

And when the final buzzer sounded, the mostly green remaining crowd stood up — nearly 2,000 miles away from TD Garden.

Kristaps Porzingis is having his best game of the season

After missing four games with an ankle sprain, Porzingis played in the final three games of the Celtics’ four-game road trip and finished what was probably his best performance of the season.

“I thought he was big tonight on both ends of the floor,” Joe Mazzulla said. “This season, I thought because of the way the smalls go at him, it was the most physical he’s been, and I thought it was the most conscious we’ve been about not only getting him the ball , but getting into the paint versus smaller matchups. So we just have to work through them.”

Porzingis, who has only played more than 20 minutes in 10 games this season, put himself at 80-85% on the recovery timeline and noted that he still needs to get into a better rhythm from a shooting standpoint.

“I felt good,” he said. – It is clear that I have to play my way back in good shape. I know that’s what everyone expects from me. That’s what I showed last season and now I’m just working my way back up. And honestly, tonight, I think, was one of the first games where I felt like I was close to feeling healthy, feeling good and getting back in good shape.”

Jayson Tatum credited Porzingis with helping with a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that effectively put the game out of reach.

“Just the power he played with on the offensive end — making fouls, attacking mismatches, getting offensive rebounds, getting a couple of putback dunks — the way he played tonight was needed.”

Porzingis has dealt with a myriad of lower leg injuries this season, including a heel strain and multiple ankle sprains, but appears to be the healthiest he’s been all year.

Needless to say, being in and out of the lineup has been frustrating.

“It always gets me a little bit, you know? Obviously I’m human and I want to play and it’s hard to come back from an injury,” Porzingis said. “You’re not in perfect shape , and you expect a lot of yourself. You work through it, fortunately or unfortunately, so I know how to bounce back and try to get into a rhythm quickly.”

Celtics were eager for redemption after OKC loss – Jokic or no Jokic

Over the past few seasons, there has been a trend where the Celtics struggle when the opposing team’s best players sit. A notable example was last year when Lakers came to town and sat LeBron James and Anthony Davis — but still came away with a double-digit win.

Tonight — with the game tied at halftime and the Nuggets without both Jokic and Aaron Gordon — it looked like things might be headed for another disappointing finish.

“Obviously, they’re not better without him,” Tatum said of Jokic. “But some of the one-off games where the team’s best player is out, we’ve lost some of those games before.”

But Porzingis said the Celtics didn’t overlook Joki.

“I think it burned inside us a little bit, the last game — how we played offensively. So we wanted to come back with this game, with high focus and high execution and doing things well,” Porzingis said.

Before the game, Joe Mazzulla discussed how to get ahead of a potential slump effort.

“How can you be proactive?” he said. “I think it’s about just having an understanding of what they look like when he’s not available. You’ve got Murray, you’ve got Porter. Those two guys are two top-notch guys who can impact the game. But that is really just everybody. It’s just really paying attention to detail — what their personnel is, how we can impact the game defensively and what it looks like on the offensive end.”

It might not have been the perfect 48-minute effort — but it was ultimately enough to end a challenging road trip with a win.