All week, the Denver Nuggets addressed physicality and defense as weaknesses of their current team.

Which is why Wednesday night’s win over the Boston Celtics was so encouraging.

The Denver Nuggets dominated the Celtics in a 103-84 victory. Denver allowed just 48 points in the first half and 36 points in the second half. No single quarter featured 25 points for the Celtics either. It was an impressive defensive performance for the Nuggets from the opening tip.

“We talk about it, we show film, but you have to go do it,” head coach David Adelman expressed about the defensive effort and execution. “When everyone is aggressive at the point of attack and you take care of the ball, you can survive bad shooting nights.”

“We’ve gotten to this point with our win total because of our offense. But if we’re going to do anything uniquely special this season, our defense has to come along.”

It was important for Denver’s defense to step up on a night the offense struggled. Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists compared to just 1 turnover, but he shot just 11-of-28 from the field in an abnormal display. Of course, that didn’t stop him from hitting one of the most improbable shots of his entire season.

Jamal Murray barely even started the game, exiting midway into the first quarter and never returning due to a serious illness.

The Nuggets started shooting the game poorly from distance, and while the efficiency improved later in the game, Denver had to weather that storm for a while.

So, on a night when Denver’s offense struggled, it was important to see the defense do some of the heavy lifting.

“It was a tough game. We played well defensively. We played with energy getting through multiple actions,” Nikola Jokic emphasized postgame. “I think we did a good job today. Yes, usually we win with offense but today we won with defense.”

“I mean they were physical. You have to give them credit, they were very physical at the point of attack,” Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla shared. “They were good switching up their matchup a little bit. I thought they were just physical at the point of attack, and they defended us well.”

Names that influenced Denver’s defensive effort strongly: Jokic (who executed really well in the middle of Denver’s scheme), Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, and KJ Simpson.

Braun spent the most time on Celtics star wing Jaylen Brown, who shot just 7-of-21 from the field and had 3 assists compared to 4 turnovers.

Johnson was strong when guarding Boston’s double big alignment that featured both Neemias Queta and Nikola Vucevic, and he also closed out exceptionally well on the perimeter.

Brown was one of the primary point-of-attack defenders that disrupted what the Celtics were trying to do with both steals and physicality.

Jones came in during both the first and second half and absolutely wrecked havoc. His physicality earned him foul trouble in the first half, but in the second half he helped change the temperature of the game a bit.

Jonas Valanciunas even made some disruptive plays, grabbing rebounds and forcing an airball by Jaylen Brown on one drive to the rim because of the threat of Valanciunas’ contest.

In order to hold a team to 84 points, the defense has to be crisp and connected. Even though the Celtics were on the second night of a back-to-back and clearly tired, the Nuggets helped them become even more tired as the game wore on. That was due to their physicality and effort, a pretty good strategy the Nuggets should hope to replicate in the coming weeks and months.

Finally, KJ Simpson ended up being an interesting story of the game. The Nuggets signed Simpson to a two-way contact on the same day they converted Spencer Jones to a full-time deal. It went under-the-radar as a result, but Simpson has made his Nuggets debut count due to a knee injury Jalen Pickett is currently dealing with.

Simpson, despite being an undersized guard, made a big impact today when he entered the rotation for the ailing Murray. Bruce Brown played the majority of the point guard minutes, but Simpson still played in both halves. He shot just 1-of-5 from the field, but the impact went well beyond the scoring, as he accumulated 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal in 15 minutes worth of time.

That one made shot was also a breakaway dunk that got Nuggets fans excited at the end of a big third quarter run that Simpson contributed to with some strong defense. He bothered Payton Pritchard for most of the evening, outshining the Sixth Man of the Year winner with his quickness, defensive instincts, and hustle.

Simpson is a former CU Boulder player, having spent time in the state of Colorado and even attending the Denver Nuggets championship parade as a fan.

“It feels great, it feels like home,” Simpson said of returning to Denver. “Thankful for the opportunity and thankful for the organization.”

Overall, this was a great win for the Nuggets, highlighted by an excellent defensive effort and hometown debut for Simpson. Can the Nuggets carry over the momentum? We will see. They have a big test vs the Oklahoma City Thunder tomorrow night.

*If you’re in the Denver area, check out Number Thirty-Eight and attend our Denver Nuggets Watch Party for tomorrow’s game in Oklahoma City!*