The Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics 115-109 on Thursday night to win their season series against the Eastern Conference leaders. Nikola Jokic got his 20th triple-double of the year.

With many alley-oop passes to Aaron Gordon, Jokic finished with 32 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. Jamal Murray contributed 19 points and 8 assists.

With 14 rebounds and a season-high 41 points, Jaylen Brown led the Celtics, who hadn’t dropped a game since early November. However, Brown was just 7 of 14 from the foul line and missed a slam attempt that left him arching his back during the next timeout.

In total, Boston missed nine free throws, compared to the Nuggets’ one miss out of 22 foul shots.

For Boston, Kristaps Porzingis finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Denver held a 12-point advantage early in the fourth quarter thanks to a basket by Murray, but the Celtics rallied and had a chance to tie the score on a 3-point attempt by Jayson Tatum with 40 seconds remaining.

With it rimming out, the Nuggets led 111-109. Gordon’s alley-oop pass from Jokic clinched the victory, and Kantavious Caldwell-Pope added two free throws to close things off.

Both teams had recently suffered defeats that snapped lengthy winning streaks. Tuesday’s 11-game winning run was ended by the Celtics’ 105-104 loss to Cleveland, while the Nuggets’ six-game winning streak was ended by Denver’s 117-107 overtime loss to Phoenix.

This was a thrilling tease if these teams are racing towards a showdown in the June NBA Finals. Going into the final stretch, both coaches saw the matchup as a kind of yardstick.

The Celtics have been the greatest team in the league this season, according to Nuggets coach Michael Malone, who noted Boston’s NBA-best record. Malone described the nationally broadcast matchup as “another opportunity for us to find out who we are.”

The Nuggets are the NBA’s standard, according to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, who suggested after the Nuggets gave the team their first home defeat on January 19 in a thrilling 102-100 victory.

reigning champions. Murray and Jokic are superstars. strong ensemble of supporting players. Say no more.

“They’re an example of what a great NBA team is, but I don’t necessarily use them as a barometer to see where we’re at,” Mazzulla remarked. “Therefore, we respect them.”

The match lived up to expectations for both elite contenders.

After Brown scored 15 points in the second quarter and reached 22 at the half, the Nuggets answered by making all 14 of their free throws, including 8 from Jokic.

Both of Denver’s explosive players made buzzer-beaters: Jokic drained a 12-foot shot with Porzingis in his face, and Murray finished the first quarter with a 30-footer to give Denver a 62-54 lead at the half.

With two three-pointers from Porzingis and a layup by Brown to open the third quarter, Boston swiftly eliminated that gap.