Preview: Denver Nuggets vs. Boston Celtics - prediction, team news, form guide

Arguably the prime of the matches connected Wednesday greeting successful the NBA volition spot the Boston Celtics question to Ball Arena to instrumentality connected the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets (20-14) are present successful 4th spot successful the Western Conference standings, portion the Celtics (26-10) are successful 2nd spot successful the East.

Match preview

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The Denver Nuggets are enjoying a coagulated tally of signifier lately, winning 4 of their past 5 matches aft beating the San Antonio Spurs 122-111 successful overtime connected the 2nd limb of their back-to-back connected Sunday.

Nikola Jokic turned successful different masterful performance, starring the squad with 46 points, 9 assists and 10 rebounds, portion Michael Porter Jr added 28 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Murray chipped successful with 13 points.

Russell Westbrook had a reasonably quiescent night, finishing with 9 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and 3 steals, but inactive made NBA past successful the game, surpassing Nuggets fable Alex English into 22nd connected the NBA's all-time scoring list.

The Joker scored 9 points successful the other play to level the home-and-home bid connected consecutive nights, but the interest for Michael Malone volition beryllium that his seat players enactment up conscionable 18 points, portion the Spurs' reserves delivered 41.

With that result, the Nuggets are present the third-highest-scoring squad successful the NBA this season, averaging 120.8 points per game, but tey could usage betterment connected defence, wherever they are ranked 24th overall, allowing 117.2 PPG.

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Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics person not been performing astatine their accustomed precocious standards, having present divided their past 10 games 5 wins and 5 defeats aft going down 105-92 to the Oklahoma City Thunder connected Sunday.

In what galore considered a preview of this season's NBA Finals, Jayson Tatum led the C's with 26 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown contributed 21 points and 3 assists portion Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and 9 rebounds.

The defending champions, astatine afloat spot for the archetypal clip this season, led the lucifer by 10 astatine the fractional clip interval, but fell isolated successful the 2nd period, managing conscionable 27 points implicit the last 2 quarters against the NBA's top-ranked defence.

Notably, Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday each failed to people a azygous constituent successful the 2nd half, combining for 0 of 13 from the tract and 0 of 9 from beyond the arc implicit the last 2 quarters.

Following the decision (which was OKC's 15th consecutive victory), Joe Mazzulla's broadside are inactive favourites to support their rubric this season, but the spread successful the betting likelihood person been slashed significantly, with the Thunder present second-favourite by a fraction.

Boston are inactive a top-10 broadside connected some ends this season, though, 3rd successful the scoring charts (118.5 PPG) and sixth connected the antiaircraft extremity (108.3 PPG); however, they present person a screen complaint of conscionable 40% (14-21-1 ATS).

Denver Nuggets form:

Boston Celtics form:

Team News

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The Nuggets are missing a fewer players astatine contiguous owed to injury, including Aaron Gordon, who missed his sixth consecutive lucifer against the Spurs connected Sunday owed to a calf strain and remains listed arsenic questionable.

Spencer Jones is besides a uncertainty owing to a close adductor strain, Vlatko Cancar volition stay sidelined for the foreseeable aboriginal arsenic helium continues rehabilitation pursuing country to his knee, and DaRon Holmes II is ruled retired with an wounded to his close ankle.

For the Celts, Brown was cleared acceptable to play up of their lucifer against the Thunder aft missing the erstwhile 2 games with a enarthrosis contented helium suffered successful the blowout triumph implicit the Raptors.

Porzingis played a 2nd consecutive crippled aft returning from injury, but Mazulla whitethorn see bringing successful Al Horford astatine centre for this lucifer successful an effort to negociate the Latvian's workload.

Denver Nuggets imaginable starting five:
Porter Jr, Braun, Jokic, Murray, Westbrook

Boston Celtics imaginable starting five:
Brown, Tatum, Horford, White, Holiday

We say: Denver Nuggets to triumph by 2+ points

When these 2 met successful Abu Dhabi successful preseason, the Nuggets hardly laid a mitt connected the Celtics, but some sides person travel a agelong mode since then, and it is present Denver that person the momentum.

Boston person the unit and quality to stroke distant immoderate hostile connected their day, but if Jokic tin proceed the signifier helium has shown recently, we consciousness the hosts could borderline the champs successful this one.

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