Celtics Can’t Find Kristaps Porzingis Late in Nuggets Loss After Hot Start

BOSTON — Kristaps Porziņģis tortured the Nuggets every bit as much as Nikola Jokić stumped the Celtics in the opening minutes of a potential Finals preview on Friday. He stopped Jokić twice in isolation, dunked and beat the former MVP up the floor for an early three, one of three in the opening frame that allowed him to match Jokić, 15-15, on the scoreboard while the Celtics won a quarter that Jokić played all 12 minutes in.

That early victory, which mounted to a 12-point first half advantage, didn’t translate to crunch time as Porziņģis took two fourth quarter shots, none in crunch time and Boston collapsed shooting 1-for-9 to finish a 102-100 loss. Jokić scored 34 points with nine assists, able to balance Celtics schemes that forced him to shoot and pass, while Boston struggled to work around Denver’s adjustment moving Jokić away from Porziņģis in favor of smaller defenders.

“I thought we got at the rim at will,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought we had some kick-out threes, could probably get K.P. a couple more post-ups, but they put a small on him and they both bigs behind, so they were able to crowd the paint a little bit.”

Aside from the Hornets loss, the finish to the loss to Denver most closely resembled a past Celtics offensive fourth quarter collapse in a season where Boston started 13-7 in crunch time finishes. They previously outscored opponents by 21.4 points per 100 possessions, tied for the highest mark in the league. Their offensive rating dipped from 128.2 in those situations to 44.4 in Friday’s loss. Porziņģis, shooting 66.7% as the third most-used Celtic in those situations, didn’t attempt a shot as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took 7-of-10 by Boston.

The first came through a patient feed from Derrick White to Brown against Jamal Murray, who the Celtics easily scored on to that point. The Celtics led, 98-95, and the Nuggets called timeout. Denver didn’t fare much better, posting a 77.8 offensive rating after, but Jokić scored a pair of tough finishes inside to take the lead while Al Horford and Tatum missed two jump shots and a dunk. Brown went to the free throw line and missed both, Horford and White botched solid looks from three on second and third-chance opportunities.

White missed a wide open corner three and Tatum followed his driving dunk past Aaron Gordon with a left-side transition layup he rolled out off the front of the rim. Boston only used Porziņģis briefly on two game-tying attempts with the shot clock off before the buzzer, catching a Brown kick-out before moving the ball to Jrue Holiday, who also didn’t shoot in crunch time. Mazzulla called timeout after that pass to prevent a foul.

“We didn’t force it,” Porziņģis told CLNS Media. “I had two post-ups, missed both that are good looks for me. It’s probably different if I make just one of those, maybe we go back two more times. I’m there, ready. I love punishing these guys because we create a mismatch. If Joker is guarding me, then I get those pops and I shoot threes, and they rotate and we make the next play, but if they put a guard on me, I want to make them pay … rebound and post-up and get those fouls. Probably, there were situations where I could’ve done a better job finding that moment to duck in and be aggressive. I’m ready if that’s what we need as a team.”

The switch to smaller looks alone didn’t initially discourage Porziņģis, who drew fouls attacking Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. before scoring past Murray like he wasn’t there to go ahead by eight in the second quarter. Yet in a game defined by adjustments, tighter rotations and two teams trying to solve opposing stars, the Nuggets began to show Porziņģis crowds and force the pass out of the post to Horford.

Playing bigger became one of the Celtics’ answers for Jokić, but he largely faced Porziņģis in isolation, able to score with relative ease and make him work harder than in any center matchup this season. His botched post-up, hitting only glass, and getting caught alongside White on a down screen displayed some of the challenges Porziņģis faced despite being able to Jokić to the perimeter on offense. Denver remained within one point despite a 14-4 run where White scored or assisted on each point, Porziņģis finding him with a skip pass from the post.

Then, Gordon moved to center and the Celtics saw the most aggressive switching of the season flatten their offense. Tatum fell to 1-for-8 from three. Brown matched him and went 1-for-9. Outside of the paint, Boston finished 3-for-12 in the fourth quarter and they only generated eight attempts inside of it, two in the restricted zone. Porziņģis, whose final shot came on a flat-footed mid range miss in the fourth, changed the Celtics’ offense to begin the season, providing an admitted element with post-ups, rolls and offensive rebounding that Boston hoped could counteract a cold night.

Instead, a familiarly chilly close to the game with the temperature dipping to 18 degrees outside didn’t concern the Celtics. They’re thinking about May and June, but in position to win on Friday, or at least force overtime, the Nuggets prepared to foul Holiday. Mazzulla prevented it with a timeout though Tatum still saw one coming and forced a quick shot over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Aaron Gordon later told CLNS that Denver wouldn’t foul out of timeout against a two-point look.

“When you switch everything, it bogs things down,” Gordon said, explaining Denver’s adjustment. “You have to play one-one-on, you have to slip, but everything is going toward the basket.”