Looking to get back on track at the TD Garden in their second of an eight-game homestand, the Celtics were carried by clutch performances by guard Derrick White and Al Horford. In their last outing without Holiday and Porzingis,

After a Nuggets turnover, the Celtics had a two-on-one breaking towards the basket, with Jaylen Brown handling the ball and Horford trailing behind him. When the defender committed to Brown, he tossed the ball up for Horford to finish.

Plus, Derrick White continues his strong play on both ends as the Celtics beat the Nuggets 110-103 to snap a two-game losing streak.

With Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jrue Holiday (finger) sidelined, Horford fared well in the starting lineup alongside Luke Kornet. The Celtics have a back-to-back set coming up Wednesday against Portland and Thursday versus the 76ers, so fantasy managers can anticipate a maintenance day for one of those games.

The Nuggets almost survived to Jokic’s return. They were down 88-84. The last minute without him was a near-death sentence, though. Sam Hauser knocked down a transition drive-and-kick 3-pointer to bring the house down with 8:11 to go, highlighting a 6-0 burst.

When it comes to the help they give their team, it's fair to compare star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic. Or at least that is the position of Celtics teammate Al Horford,

If Boston approaches it right, it could set them up for a furious start to the 2025 NBA Playoffs. Horford recently took some time to talk it all over with the media at a recent Celtics community event.

Boston wisely played with two bigs in the starting five in Al Horford and Luke Kornet to give them more size against the big man with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined. However, Joe Mazzulla’s approach to containing Jokic was centered around limiting everything around the Nuggets star.