Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds from the Boston Celtics’ 119-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
STARS
Nikola Jokic
The second-year big man absolutely dominated play Friday night in most categories before finishing with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists and four steals.
Isaiah Thomas
Isaiah Thomas had 21 points on 7-for-14 shooting with five assists and one steal but never seemed to put his usual imprint on the game.
Boston Celtics
STUDS
Wilson Chandler
Aside from Jokic, the next best player on the floor most of the night was Chandler who led all scorers with 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting in addition to eight rebounds.
Avery Bradley
It was Bradley’s best scoring night since returning to the lineup following his Achilles injury. He had 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting which included 4-for-8 on 3’s.
Danilo Gallinari
His size and strength are very under-rated until you see how he’s able to get his offense going around the rim as well as from the perimeter. He finished with 20 points on 6-for-12 shooting along with five rebounds and two steals.
Al Horford
Similar to Isaiah Thomas, Horford had a solid night statistically. But the imprint he has on games when the Celtics are successful, was nowhere to be found. He finished with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting with five rebounds and two assists.
DUDS
Celtics Offense
Boston’s defense doesn’t match up well with the Denver Nuggets. We know that. But the Celtics should have had a field day offensively because Denver’s defense has been horrible all season. Boston shot 42.5 percent from the field, 36.4 percent on 3’s.