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If Thursday were a preview of the NBA Finals, the Denver Nuggets They look pretty good.
Nikola Jokic led Denver to a 115-109 victory over the Boston Celtics in a marquee showdown between the defending NBA champions and the holders of the league’s highest record, sweeping the season series in the process.
It was a typical night at the office for Jokic, with 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and one turnover. The MVP candidate appeared to be dealing with an elbow injury for part of the game, but he was still orchestrating a strong night on offense against the NBA’s No. 2 team in defensive efficiency.
The Celtics led for much of the first quarter, until a quick 9-2 run late gave the Nuggets a lead they never regained. Boston came close, though. The Celtics tied the game on points in the third quarter and cut a double-digit lead to just two points in the final two minutes of the game.
Jokic and Gordon responded by doing this with 20 seconds left:
Somehow, that wasn’t even the wildest dunk of the game. Or the second wildest.
There was this dunk that almost derailed in the transition Peyton Watson:
And then Gordon remembered that he probably should have won a dunk contest or two.
Jaylen Brown He would have been the hero on the Celtics side, with 42 points on 16 of 27 shooting with 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals. It wasn’t enough to compensate Jayson Tatum scoring only 14 points. Boston also finished 11 of 37 from 3-point range.
The victory puts the Nuggets at 43-20 just one game behind the minnesota wolves for first place in the West, with the Oklahoma City thunder between them half a game behind the first.
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