DENVER -- — Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Kristaps Porzingis added 25 and the Boston Celtics held off the depleted Denver Nuggets 118-106 on Tuesday night as three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic sat out because of an illness.

Porzingis had 11 rebounds, while Jrue Holiday contributed 19 points. The Celtics attempted 35 3-pointers, which was well below their season average of 50.17. Instead, they outscored the Nuggets by a 60-46 margin in the paint.

Russell Westbrook had 26 points for Denver and eight turnovers. Michael Porter Jr. added 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Nuggets dropped to 10-7 at home. They were 33-8 last season.

Trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half, the Nuggets rallied to make sure the game stayed tight down the stretch. There was a momentary break with 8:56 remaining when a cup of ice spilled on the court. It took several minutes to clean up. Christian Braun followed with a 3-pointer to tie it at 93.

Boston went on a 15-0 run to help cement the win.

The game between the last two NBA champions was setting up to feature two of the top players in the league. But Jokic went from probable to questionable to finally ruled out. The Nuggets were also missing Aaron Gordon (calf).

Takeaways

Celtics: Stellar defense down the stretch, including steals from Al Horford and Tatum.

Nuggets: The bench had a solid showing with Julian Strawther scoring 19 and Peyton Watson 14.

Key moment

Porter appeared to be fouled by Sam Hauser going in for a dunk with 2:57 left in the third quarter and Denver trailing 80-77. The Celtics won the challenge.

Key stat

There were 10 lead changes and eight ties.

Up next

The Nuggets turn around and host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night, while the Celtics play at home against Sacramento on Friday.

------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Kristaps Porzingis vs. Dario Saric (Al Horford gains possession)	0	0
11:44	Kristaps Porzingis makes 18-foot jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	0	2
11:22	Jamal Murray makes 25-foot three pointer	3	2
11:15	Jayson Tatum misses 22-foot three point jumper	3	2
11:13	Russell Westbrook defensive rebound	3	2
11:06	Christian Braun steps out of bounds turnover	3	2
10:41	Kristaps Porzingis misses 14-foot jump bank shot	3	2
10:38	Russell Westbrook defensive rebound	3	2
10:29	Russell Westbrook misses two point shot	3	2
10:27	Kristaps Porzingis defensive rebound	3	2
10:22	Jrue Holiday misses driving layup	3	2
10:20	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	3	2
10:17	Michael Porter Jr. makes 25-foot running pullup jump shot	6	2
10:05	Kristaps Porzingis makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jrue Holiday assists)	6	5
9:57	Jamal Murray misses two point shot	6	5
9:56	Christian Braun offensive rebound	6	5
9:53	Dario Saric misses 26-foot three point jumper	6	5
9:49	Jaylen Brown defensive rebound	6	5
9:37	Kristaps Porzingis misses 13-foot two point shot	6	5
9:34	Christian Braun defensive rebound	6	5
9:22	Michael Porter Jr. misses driving floating jump shot	6	5
9:20	Michael Porter Jr. offensive rebound	6	5
9:19	Michael Porter Jr. lost ball turnover (Al Horford steals)	6	5
9:03	Al Horford makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jaylen Brown assists)	6	8
8:45	Michael Porter Jr. makes 24-foot three point jumper (Dario Saric assists)	9	8
8:33	Michael Porter Jr. shooting foul	9	8
8:33	Kristaps Porzingis makes free throw 1 of 2	9	9
8:33	Kristaps Porzingis makes free throw 2 of 2	9	10
8:13	Russell Westbrook makes 23-foot three point jumper (Christian Braun assists)	12	10
8:03	Kristaps Porzingis makes 3-foot dunk	12	12
7:53	Jaylen Brown personal foul	12	12
7:43	Christian Braun misses 25-foot three point jumper	12	12
7:40	Al Horford defensive rebound	12	12
7:36	Jayson Tatum misses running pullup jump shot	12	12
7:33	Celtics offensive team rebound	12	12
7:29	Jrue Holiday makes 2-foot layup (Jaylen Brown assists)	12	14
7:15	Russell Westbrook bad pass (Kristaps Porzingis steals)	12	14
7:11	Jayson Tatum makes 3-foot dunk	12	16
7:10	Nuggets Full timeout	12	16
6:56	Russell Westbrook makes 23-foot three point jumper (Michael Porter Jr. assists)	15	16
6:37	Al Horford makes 25-foot three point jumper (Jayson Tatum assists)	15	19
6:24	Michael Porter Jr. makes 20-foot pullup jump shot (Russell Westbrook assists)	17	19
6:06	Jayson Tatum makes 2-foot two point shot	17	21
6:05	Celtics delay of game violation	17	21
5:52	Jamal Murray makes 16-foot two point shot	19	21
5:41	Kristaps Porzingis misses 27-foot three point jumper	19	21
5:39	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	19	21
5:22	Michael Porter Jr. misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	21
5:20	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	19	21
5:06	Jaylen Brown bad pass (Jamal Murray steals)	19	21
5:02	Jayson Tatum blocks Christian Braun's two point shot	19	21
4:59	Al Horford defensive rebound	19	21
4:56	Kristaps Porzingis makes dunk (Jayson Tatum assists)	19	23
4:36	Jrue Holiday blocks Dario Saric 's 2-foot layup	19	23
4:36	Nuggets offensive team rebound	19	23
4:36	Zeke Nnaji enters the game for Dario Saric	19	23
4:36	Peyton Watson enters the game for Christian Braun	19	23
4:36	Julian Strawther enters the game for Russell Westbrook	19	23
4:36	Payton Pritchard enters the game for Jaylen Brown	19	23
4:36	Luke Kornet enters the game for Jrue Holiday	19	23
4:36	Sam Hauser enters the game for Kristaps Porzingis	19	23
4:30	Jamal Murray misses 5-foot two point shot	19	23
4:29	Jamal Murray offensive rebound	19	23
4:29	Jamal Murray misses tip shot	19	23
4:28	Al Horford defensive rebound	19	23
4:17	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	19	23
4:14	Michael Porter Jr. defensive rebound	19	23
3:56	Luke Kornet shooting foul	19	23
3:56	Jamal Murray makes free throw 1 of 2	20	23
3:56	Jamal Murray makes free throw 2 of 2	21	23
3:40	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup	21	25
3:27	Luke Kornet blocks Zeke Nnaji 's 3-foot driving dunk	21	25
3:24	Luke Kornet defensive rebound	21	25
3:18	Payton Pritchard makes 25-foot three point jumper (Sam Hauser assists)	21	28
2:55	Jamal Murray misses 25-foot three point step back jumpshot	21	28
2:54	Payton Pritchard defensive rebound	21	28
2:48	Jayson Tatum makes driving layup (Payton Pritchard assists)	21	30
2:48	Jamal Murray shooting foul	21	30
2:48	Celtics Full timeout	21	30
2:48	Russell Westbrook enters the game for Jamal Murray	21	30
2:48	Kristaps Porzingis enters the game for Al Horford	21	30
2:48	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 1 of 1	21	31
2:34	Julian Strawther makes 8-foot driving floating jump shot (Russell Westbrook assists)	23	31
2:19	Russell Westbrook personal foul	23	31
2:09	Peyton Watson blocks Kristaps Porzingis 's 11-foot two point shot	23	31
2:08	Payton Pritchard offensive rebound	23	31
2:08	Payton Pritchard misses 5-foot jumper	23	31
2:07	Kristaps Porzingis offensive rebound	23	31
2:07	Kristaps Porzingis makes tip shot	23	33
2:00	Sam Hauser shooting foul	23	33
2:00	Peyton Watson makes free throw 1 of 2	24	33
2:00	Jaden Springer enters the game for Kristaps Porzingis	24	33
2:00	Peyton Watson makes free throw 2 of 2	25	33
1:50	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point jumper	25	33
1:48	Russell Westbrook defensive rebound	25	33
1:46	Russell Westbrook bad pass (Payton Pritchard steals)	25	33
1:30	Russell Westbrook blocks Jayson Tatum 's 12-foot two point shot	25	33
1:30	Celtics offensive team rebound	25	33
1:25	Peyton Watson shooting foul	25	33
1:25	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 1 of 2	25	34
1:25	Kristaps Porzingis enters the game for Jaden Springer	25	34
1:25	Jayson Tatum makes free throw 2 of 2	25	35
1:13	Julian Strawther misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	25	35
1:10	Luke Kornet defensive rebound	25	35
1:02	Kristaps Porzingis bad pass (Julian Strawther steals)	25	35
53.2	Zeke Nnaji misses driving layup	25	35
51.0	Jayson Tatum defensive rebound	25	35
48.1	Payton Pritchard misses running pullup jump shot	25	35
44.2	Payton Pritchard offensive rebound	25	35
33.2	Jayson Tatum misses 26-foot three point step back jumpshot	25	35
30.2	Kristaps Porzingis offensive rebound	25	35
30.2	Kristaps Porzingis makes 2-foot jump bank shot	25	37
7.1	Russell Westbrook misses 21-foot pullup jump shot	25	37
4.1	Kristaps Porzingis defensive rebound	25	37
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	25	37

Related Tags

Boston Celtics vs Denver Nuggets Live StreamWatch Boston Celtics vs Denver Nuggets FreeCeltics vs Nuggets Live ScoreBOS vs DEN GameNBA Stream Boston CelticsNBA Stream Denver NuggetsBall ArenaNBA Live StreamBasketball Streams

Explore More

Boston Celtics Standings Denver Nuggets Standings Boston Celtics Stats Denver Nuggets Stats NBA Standings NBA Schedule

Article Sections

Check all game sections

Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Ball Arena

Denver, CO

Date & Time

3:00 AM, January 8, 2025

Coverage

TNT, NBC Sports BO

Attendance

19,904

Referees

Sean Wright, Gediminas Petraitis, Che Flores

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Boston	39	20	.661	W1
New York	38	22	.633	W1
Toronto	35	25	.583	W1
Philadelphia	33	26	.559	W3
Brooklyn	15	44	.254	L7

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	46	15	.754	W1
Denver	37	23	.617	L1
Minnesota	37	23	.617	W2
Portland	29	32	.475	L1
Utah	18	42	.300	L5

Need Help?

Explore our comprehensive NBA streams guide for all available options and platform comparisons.

View Streaming Guide

Nuggets

Celtics

Jayson Tatum scores 29, Porzingis adds 25 as Celtics hold off depleted Nuggets 118-106

Game Analysis

Regular Season Series

Game Analysis

Game Stats

Game Article

Game Recap