Celtics-Nuggets notebook: Jaylen Brown rewards Al Horford’s efforts, Payton Pritchard keeps his promise, Neemias Queta shines

BOSTON — The Celtics haven’t lost three regular-season games in a row in almost two years — and they made certain it wouldn’t happen on Sunday afternoon.

Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, and Derrick White led the way in a battle between the previous two NBA champions and the Celtics ultimately beat the Denver Nuggets, 110-103.

Brown, who was questionable up until game time with right knee pain, led the Celtics with 22 points (6-15 FG), 8 assists, and 5 rebounds. The 2024 Finals MVP noted the knee bothered him throughout the game, but he was nonetheless able to push through and give the Celtics 37 minutes.

Al Horford, meanwhile, had one of his best two-way performances of the season, racking up 19 points on 7-12 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 3 steals.

And Derrick White continued his post-All-Star break success, posting 17 points and converting 5-11 threes. Despite missing both Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jrue Holiday (mallet finger), the Celtics prevailed against the West’s second-best team.

Here’s what stood out from TD Garden as the Celtics got back in the win column.

Al Horford put together an elite performance on both ends — and Jaylen Brown made sure to find him

From tipoff, Horford was just moving differently — attacking the basket at will, intercepting passes, and even pressuring Nikola Jokic at halfcourt.

His 19 points marked his second-highest scoring output of the year — and his highest since mid-November.

Perhaps most impressively, Horford held his own against Jokic, though he made sure to note postgame that he did need the help against the player he believes is the best in the world.

“I just like to compete. It comes down to that,” Horford said, then praised Jokic. “There’s just so much that he does. He’s so difficult to defend — he’s just unpredictable. What makes it worse is that he plays the right way.”

Still, Horford’s efforts amazed all those around him.

“He’s one of the best players in the league at guarding the other best players in the league — no matter what position they are,” Joe Mazzulla said after the win. “He was just elite tonight — on the defensive end of the floor, with his positioning, his communication, his physicality, his rebounding. It was amazing to watch.”

“He’s an ultimate team guy, a great connector for our unit,” Brown added.

Mazzulla has routinely credited the 38-year-old for the defensive versatility he affords the Celtics, and he reiterated the importance of that on Sunday: “We can play small, we can play big, he can play alongside someone else.” In this one, Horford started alongside Luke Kornet, but also played stints with Neemias Queta.

Mazzulla also praised Horford’s competitiveness.

“Just as much as he helps us versus the opponent, and he helps us in our locker room because of his competitiveness,” he said. “I think some people mistake his kindness for weakness at times, but he’s one of the most competitive people I know. And you can tell when he brings it — and tonight was one of those nights.”

White said Horford always brings it, but agreed that he did have an edge on Sunday.

“I feel like when he’s saving a ball, or just creating extra possessions for us, that’s kind of when you notice it,” White said. “We did a better job than we have in the past of finding him, and he made a big place for us on both sides of the ball.”

Horford is typically a low-usage player who, in his 18th season, rarely attempts two-point field goals. But Brown said he made a concerted effort to find the veteran for baskets whenever he could — and, as such, he assisted on 5 of his 7 baskets.

“He does all the dirty work on the other side,” Brown said of Horford. “Tonight, he had it rolling — especially me, knowing that, seeing him battling on the board, seeing he was moving well, I’m gonna try to find him.”

Part of Horford’s urgency stemmed from the desire to avoid a three-game losing streak that would have been their first of the season.

“On the verge of losing three in a row, we knew we had to respond,” Horford told reporters. “The energy from our group was great tonight.”

Payton Pritchard and the bench bounce back from brutal Cavs loss

It was well-chronicled that the Celtics bench laid an egg on Friday night; they combined for just six points and were a big part of why the Cavs came out victorious, despite Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown exploding for 83 points (their highest combined point total in their seven years playing together).

On Sunday, Mazzulla moved Kornet into the starting lineup in place of Porzingis, and kept Sam Hauser, who started on Friday, on the bench.

The backups bounced back well, with Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Neemias Queta racking up a combined 27 points on 11-16 shooting.

Mazzulla shouted out Pritchard for his role in leading the second unit, sharing that Pritchard told him he felt responsible for the group’s lack of production in Friday’s loss. In that one, the Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner finished with a team-worst +/- of -36.

“He’s such a competitor, he took ownership — not that I thought it was on him — but he took the ownership on making sure that when he’s in the game, that that lineup really impacts winning,” Mazzulla said. “I knew today he was going to put us in position to do that.”

In the victory, Pritchard recorded 11 points (4-7 FG) and 3 assists in 25 minutes. Hauser added 8 points on 3-4 shooting.

Derrick White is oozing with confidence

Remember when Derrick White was in a slump? Me neither. White put together another excellent performance in the win, finishing with 17 points (6-13 FG), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

He hit 5 of his 11 three-point attempts and even did a double-take when he saw his high number of attempts when he sat down at the podium with the box score in hand.

“I didn’t think I took that many,” White said. “But it’s on brand, I guess.”

The box score doesn’t capture the timely nature of the his baskets either. He had a team-high 8 points on 3-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, hitting two early three-pointers.

“Most of the time, I start the fourth, and I just try to be aggressive and pick my spots,” White explained. “Each game is a little bit different, and you kind of have to read it, but my teammates and the coaching staff really trust me — and so that gives you the confidence to go out there and be aggressive and try to take, and make, some big shots.”

Horford was in awe of his teammate’s performance.

“Talk about the guy that just kind of saves the day for us, time and time again — it’s Derrick,” Horford said with a smile, calling out White’s timely baskets, headlined by a putback floater that gave the Celtics a 5-point lead with 54 seconds to play.

“He’s just a winner,” Horford said. “He just finds a way. We’re very, very lucky to have him here.”

Neemias Queta makes the most of extended opportunity

With Kristaps Porzingis missing his third game this week with a non-COVID illness, Queta enjoyed an extended run, playing 17 minutes and finishing with 8 points (4-5 FG), 10 rebounds, and an assist.

“If he was on any other team, he’d be a backup big,” Mazzulla said. “I’m grateful — because he allows us to hold him to an extremely high standard, where nothing he ever does is good enough. But he has to do it because it’s important for us to win.”

Horford praised Queta’s professionalism and ability to guard the perimeter.

“Neemy is sticking to his preparation, his routine, even if he’s not playing, you see him here — same energy, working, and just staying ready for the opportunities,” Horford said of his mentee. “Him being able to defend the perimeter, protect the paint, get rebounds, just staying ready and taking advantage of the opportunity. He was very big for us tonight.”

Joe Mazzulla maintains the Celtics didn’t gameplan against Nikola Jokic

Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic finished the game with 20 points (9-15 FG), 14 rebounds, and 9 assists — a gaudy stat line that would stand out even more if it were any other players’.

The Celtics and Nuggets were even in Jokic’s 39 minutes, and Mazzulla made clear that the gameplan centered around everything else, rather than Jokic’s inevitably strong play.

“We didn’t talk anything about Jokic in the gameplan. It’s not about him,” Mazzulla said matter-of-factly. “It’s about controlling all the other stuff that you can control. They’re one of the best teams in the league on cuts — can you take away all their cuts? Can you take away their transition leakouts by not turning it over, by crashing the offensive glass? Can you try to keep them off the free-throw line? Can you win the minutes that he’s not on the court? You don’t really talk about it in a gameplan you talk about all the other stuff that you can’t control.”

Horford, who had the Jokic assignment for much of the night, acknowledged it was a full-team effort to contain the Nuggets star.

“I guess you don’t really talk about it, but you know that everything runs through him,” Horford said. “He’s such a smart player, that it’s difficult. What you want to do, to Joe’s point, is to try to limit the other guys as much as you can, take away certain tendencies.”

Jrue Holiday misses his second consecutive game with a “mallet finger”

Holiday missed his second straight game with what’s been diagnosed as a mallet finger, and it doesn’t sound like he’ll be back particularly soon.

Holiday’s been wearing a cast after breaking his finger in the Celtics’ loss to the Pistons on Wednesday.

“Would love to be as healthy as possible, but things happen,” he told reporters before Sunday’s game, per CLNS Media. “I don’t know (when I’ll return), it’s the first time, I’ve jammed a lot of fingers, but never really had this before, I don’t think. I’m trying to figure it out. I’m gonna be in the splint for a minute, but figuring that out too on my shooting hand.”

Derrick White acknowledged it’s a full-team effort to make up for Holiday’s absence.

“Guys just gonna have to step up and try to make those plays,” White said. “I mean, you can’t be a Jrue Holiday, but we could all just come together and just do a little bit more.”

Jaden Springer signs a three-year deal with the Utah Jazz

Jaden Springer, who was traded from the Celtics to the Houston Rockets last month and then subsequently waived, signed a three-year deal with the Jazz, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Sunday afternoon.

Springer signed a 10-day contract with the Jazz on Feb. 19, and has appeared in five games since. Last month, Brad Stevens said he was confident that Springer would find his footing in the NBA.

“It stinks that we have to do that with regard to him,” Stevens said at the time. “But he’ll be okay because he’s a bulldog. He’s a good player.”