Inside The Celtics

The Top 5 Plays from Sunday's Celtics-Nuggets Game

The Celtics turning stops into scores is at the root of several of the breakdowns of the top five plays from their game against the Nuggets.

Bobby Krivitsky

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
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Boston's best defensive stretch from its 123-111 loss to Denver is responsible for several of the moments featured on the top five plays from Sunday's Celtics-Nuggets game.

Jaylen Brown Blows by Nikola Jokic for a Lefty Layup

After a missed pull-up jumper by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope at the other end, three Nuggets are surrounding Jayson Tatum, so he bounces it ahead to Jaylen Brown.

Nikola Jokic can't keep stride with him. Caldwell-Pope doesn't come off Derrick White quickly or aggressively enough to deter Brown from the rim, and Bruce Brown just floats on the opposite side of the paint, leaving Marcus Smart open but not helping try to prevent Brown's layup.

Second Time's the Charm

It starts with White setting a pindown for Brown. With Denver switching and Bruce Brown hanging back, White does well to get a piece of Christian Braun.

Brown then gets Braun to bite on the pump fake, drawing the Nuggets' Brown to him. White passes up a corner three, and Denver does well, switching back as Braun chests White, preventing the latter from burrowing from the baseline for a layup on the right side of the rim.

Michael Porter Jr. sags into the paint and has his back to Smart. He then bites on the up-fake, prompting Braun to run out to contest Smart's three. The latter's show draws iron, but a consequence of Braun leaving White, which by no means was the wrong decision, is the Nuggets have difficulty matching up after Smart retrieves his miss.

No one guards White, and he capitalizes, knocking down an open three.

Robert Williams Gets it Done at Both Ends of the Court

Bones Hyland loses Grant Williams with a spin move and thinks he's about to turn into an open fadeaway jumper. Instead, Robert Williams closes to him, dissuading Hyland from doing so, resulting in an errant pass picked off by Grant Williams.

Hyland then has to match up with Robert Williams at the other end. There's no scram switch from Vlatko Cancar, who's worried about Sam Hauser in the opposite corner. That concern makes it easy for the Timelord to go through Hyland as if he's not there and finish with a layup on the left side of the cylinder.

Al Horford Rattles the Rim

It starts with Al Horford denying Aaron Gordon at the rim, then making sure Gordon can't clean up his miss.

Horford runs the floor, and with Caldwell-Pope sticking with White, no one picks up the former, who rattles the rim with a two-handed slam.

Jaylen Brown Circumnavigates His Way Past Nikola Jokic

Boston's defending the pick-and-roll at the start of the play in drop coverage, but there's so much space between Jokic and Brown that Smart easily goes over the screen without needing to chase Brown from behind.

He does a great job cleanly knocking the ball out and recovers the loose change. Horford's running the floor nets the Celtics a second chance that turns into a five-on-four with Jaylen Brown joining the play while Gordon remains behind it. That leads to Brown coming downhill with a full head of steam and circumnavigating his way past Jokic for two points at the rim.

Further Reading

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Loss vs. the Nuggets: Jokic's Triple-Double, Denver's Hot Shooting Snap Boston's Four-Game Win Streak

The Top 5 Plays from Thursday's Celtics-Clippers Game

Here's What Stood Out in the Celtics' Win vs. Clippers: Paint Production and Defense Propel Boston to Fourth-Straight Victory

The Celtics Have Regained Their Defensive Identity, and It's More Likely to Lead to Banner 18 Than Shooting Their Way to a Championship

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Bucks: Stellar Two-Way Performance and Tatum's Take Over Propel Boston to Christmas Victory

Brad Stevens Shares His Early Evaluation of Joe Mazzulla

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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