DENVER — If defense is your cup of tea, Wednesday night was one of the strongest cups of Earl Grey you'll ever encounter.
The Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets both came out with straightforward, ultimately successful game plans on that side of the ball.
For Boston, the goal was clear: Limit Nikola Jokic. There is no stopping the Nuggets star, but the Celtics did everything they could. Neemias Queta got the assignment to start the game, then Nikola Vucevic came in for some double-big looks. Queta was an off-ball helper in those spots.
Derrick White helped off the ball, too, as the Celtics lived with Jokic taking a bulk of his shots from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets wanted to be physical. They stayed connected off the ball, stuck their hands in the cookie jar against ball-handlers, and sent extra pressure in the pick-and-roll.
White's buckets kept Boston's offense alive throughout the first half. He had 18 points at halftime on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 shooting from deep.
Despite his inefficient scoring, Jokic led Denver with 13 points. Boston was up 48-47 at the break.
After a 5-of-12 first half, Jaylen Brown shot out of the halftime break like a rocket. He was upset with the officiating in the first half (and he spoke to the refs before heading into the locker room).
So, to open the third, Brown was aggressive. He drove right into the Nuggets' defense and got himself four straight free throws to open the period. Boston was in the bonus with 7:55 to go in the third.
But Brown's aggressiveness wasn't enough to make up for Boston's lack of overall offensive production. The Nuggets' physicality really stumped them, and nobody found a flow.
At least, nobody on the Celtics. Because the third quarter was all Jokic.
The three-time MVP exploded for a 15-point quarter. He shot 3-of-7 from three-point range in the quarter, and Boston's help defense wasn't quick enough when he was working in the post.
A disaster end to the third quarter, lowlighted by ugly Boston turnovers and easy transition buckets for Denver, gave the Nuggets a 77-67 lead heading into the final frame.
As the fourth got underway, Jonas Valanciunas seamlessly replaced Jokic. He was getting whatever he wanted in the post, and Joe Mazzulla had to call an early timeout.
Then, the Celtics had a chance.
Their offense got some open looks. And it was Baylor Scheierman's doing (in large part). The Celtics sophomore enjoyed a few solid possessions of ball-handling, and he even nailed a couple of threes.
But nobody else could make a shot. Boston was ice cold.
That was that. A dreadful offensive night was capped off by a fitting end: The Celtics missed a ton of open shots. (And they weren't all threes! Sam Hauser missed two floaters at one point in the fourth.)
It just wasn't Boston's night.
Big winner: For the second straight game, White looked like the offensive player he's been for the past few years in Boston.
He ran the pick-and-roll masterfully, nailed his floaters, and hit his threes at an efficient rate. It was everything Celtics fans have become accustomed to since he was traded to Boston.
As the Celtics' regular season winds down, getting White in a rhythm will be crucial. If he can rediscover his efficiency heading into the postseason, it could do wonders for Boston's offense.
Ouch, tough one: The Celtics truly had no answer for Denver's defense in this game.
They chased Boston off the three-point line by going over screens, made ball-handlers uncomfortable, and played very physical basketball. Boston never got a chance to breathe.
By the time the fourth quarter came around, even the easy ones weren't falling.
The big picture: Answers about the offense are needed, but they aren't as pressing as this game made them seem.
Denver did a great job of shutting Payton Pritchard out of the offense. Almost every look he got, especially in the first half, was a tough one.
But the Celtics' open threes also just didn't fall. Ron Harper Jr. missed a bunch. Scheierman missed a bunch. Vucevic missed a bunch. Boston got some open shots early on, but they didn't fall.
So, as the game went on, Brown, Pritchard, and White tried to take matters into their own hands. But Denver's physicality took that away.
It was the fourth game of a long road trip. All West Coast games. The second night of a back-to-back. These games are bound to happen throughout an NBA season (and the Celtics still held Denver to a very reasonable point total).
An ugly ending shouldn't detract from Boston's success since the All-Star break.