Getty The Boston Celtics face their toughest challenge of the season Thursday against the Denver Nuggets.
So it was one loss in 12 games. But it was a brutal one for the Boston Celtics.
Kicking off a five-game road trip after stringing together 11 straight victories, the Celtics held a 22-point lead in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday, March 5, only to see the Cavs outscore them 34-17 in the fourth quarter in shocking 105-104 victory. White it was an ugly loss, it might prove to be an important one, especially with the defending champion Denver Nuggets next up on the schedule.
After Loss, How Will the Celtics Respond Against the Nuggets?
It’s just one loss, but those haven’t happened very often for the Celtics this year. Despite the fourth-quarter breakdown against the Cavs, Boston still owns the best record in the NBA at 48-13. The Milwaukee Bucks are the closest team to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, and they’re 7.5 games behind.
It’s a loss, however, that could show how the mental makeup of the Celtics truly is.
The Celtics have Wednesday off and then face the Nuggets in what will be their biggest test of the season on Thursday. Not only are the Nuggets the defending champs, but they are also the team responsible for ruining Boston’s 20-game home win streak earlier this year.
When the Celtics have lost this year, players and head coach Joe Mazzulla have often said they’d use it as a learning experience. Center Kristaps Porzingis even went as far as to say the loss to the Cavaliers was a good one.
“It’s healthy. It’s healthy for us,” Porzingis told reporters after the game.
“We do have the feeling we’re pretty much going to win every game, like we’re invincible. “A little bit of that feeling is always there. It may be healthy, but it’s also healthy to get a loss here and there. Let’s recalibrate a little bit and have that attention to detail again. It’s fine, and it’s necessary for us to keep going.”
Jaylen Brown: ‘Comfort Will Kill You’
Will the Celtics actually learn from the loss? Like Porzingis, Jaylen Brown believes Tuesday’s loss could be beneficial.
Brown said the Celtics got too comfortable with their 22-point lead and watched the Cavs outplay and outwork them down the stretch.
“In the fourth quarter, we didn’t execute,” Brown said postgame. “We got some open looks that didn’t go down, but you put yourself in that spot when you don’t put a team away, don’t match the gas. We should’ve match the gas when we was up 22.
“We kind of hung around. It was cool. Comfort will kill you. I think we needed that. I think it’s good. That keeps us on our toes and keeps up being able to learn and move forward. We’ve got to be able to put teams away.”
Many believe Thursday’s game against in Denver will be a preview of the 2024 NBA Finals. It will be, by far, Boston’s toughest challenge this year, and it’s the perfect measuring stick to show how they’ll respond against an elite team after a painful loss.