The Celtics and Nuggets entered Wednesday’s game with two of the top offenses in NBA history. And at the start, it was easy to see why, even with Denver’s attack diluted by the absence of superstar center Nikola Jokic due to a knee injury.
But in the end, the Nuggets found a way with their defense, stymying the Celtics during a key 14-0 fourth-quarter run to emerge with a 114-110 win. The Celtics’ four-game winning streak was snapped, and they slid back into third place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the Knicks.
Jaylen Brown had 33 points to lead the Celtics but also committed a game-high seven turnovers, three coming during the fateful fourth quarter.
Afterward, Brown once again turned his focus toward the officiating, drawing attention to the fact that he attempted just three free throws despite taking 23 two-point shots. He said his physical style of play should lead to more opportunities.
“If I feel contact, I’m going to go through it,” Brown said. “I’m going to go strong. But tonight, I was just getting blank faces when I was asking officials. They just decided the last 10 games has been free throws. Tonight, it wasn’t. So, it is what it is.”
Brown said that in addition to losing out on opportunities at the foul line, those non-calls often lead to awkward misses which can subsequently compromise a team’s transition defense.
So Brown said he intends to monitor how games are being officiated as he calculates his offensive attack each night. If no fouls are being called, he could adjust his shot profile.
The Nuggets did not have Jokic, the best passing big man in NBA history, so the Celtics shifted their focus toward star guard Jamal Murray. They sent constant double teams at him and essentially dared others to find a way.
But Murray was a willing passer and consistently found advantages, and the Nuggets buried the Celtics with a 3-point barrage.
Peyton Watson, who entered 38 for 104 from the 3-point line this season, drilled 6 of 7 and scored 30 points. Tim Hardaway Jr. was 4 for 8 from long range, and Denver was 20 for 44 overall.
Murray, meanwhile, registered a season-high 17 assists to go along with his 22 points.
“Obviously he’s a really good player and he made the right read a lot tonight,” said Celtics guard Derrick White. “And so, credit to him and credit to his teammates for being in the right position as well.
“Obviously, you want to get it out of his hand, but I think a lot of those kind of led to layups or 3s and those kind of hurt you.”
Neither team held a double-digit lead over the first three quarters, and the Celtics’ work on the offensive glass gave them chances early in the fourth, with Neemias Queta leading the way. The center gobbled up a career-high 20 rebounds, 10 on the offensive end, helping the Celtics to 27 second-chance points.
An Anfernee Simons basket after an offensive rebound gave Boston a 90-87 lead with 8:12 left. But then the damaging scoring drought arrived.
Murray hit a jumper and found Christian Braun for a 3-pointer. Then Zeke Nnaji blocked a White 3-pointer to ignite a fast-break that ended with a Watson layup.
The Celtics called timeout, but it didn’t help. Nnaji threw down a dunk, Brown was called for an offensive foul, and two Nnaji free throws capped the 14-0 run that gave the Nuggets a 101-90 lead.
Nnaji all but put the exclamation point on his team’s win by smothering Brown’s attempt inside, leading to a Watson 3-pointer at the other end.
“It was probably just that type of game where they hit every shot off our mistakes,” said Celtics guard Payton Pritchard. “It is the NBA, so usually that does happen. So we’ve got to tighten that up. I feel like we’ve done a really good job of not turning it over and making bad reads so maybe today we made a couple of those.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla removed his stars with the Nuggets leading, 109-98, with 1:12 left, but four missed free throws by Watson created a small opening. The Celtics pulled within 113-110 with three Pritchard free throws with 6.5 seconds to play. But the comeback try ended there.
“There’s just a few possessions offensively and defensively that we just got to be sharper,” Brown said. “But any given night, teams can get hot like that.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.