Celtics post season-low 84 points in loss to Nuggets
RECAP: The Celtics struggled in the second half on the way to a 103-84 loss to the Nuggets out in Denver on Wednesday night.
Feb 25, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) tries to pass the ball as he is defended by Denver Nuggets guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) during the first half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Through 24 minutes of play, the Celtics and Nuggets were going punch for punch with one another. But it was a cold-shooting second half that ultimately dropped the Celtics, who set a new season-low in points in an 103-84 loss to the Nuggets in Denver on Wednesday night.
The C’s second-half slump saw the club nail down just 11 of their 39 field goal attempts (28.2 percent), and miss all but five of their 19 attempts from three-point range (26.3 percent). The Nuggets, meanwhile, shot 51.1 percent (23-for-45) over that same span, and went 50 percent from deep with makes on seven of their 14 tries from deep. Those numbers are downright ugly.
And though some teams can survive those kind of differentials in the second half, it proved to be downright impossible with a mere one-point edge like the Celtics had with a 48-47 lead in their favor at halftime.
While the first quarter was the Jaylen Brown vs. Nikola Jokic show, it was Derrick White who carried things for Boston in the second quarter, with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting. It was tied for the most points White, a Colorado native, has had in any single quarter in his NBA career.
Despite White's hot quarter, Brown still finished the defeat with a team-leading 23 points in just under 34 minutes of action, while Jokic posted a double-double with 30 points and 12 rebounds by the night's end.
With their four-game road trip behind them, the Celtics will get back to Boston for a Friday night showdown with the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.
