NBA

Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets

· NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2024
1-0, 1-0 Away
Final
107 - 103

0-1, 0-1 Home

Celtics beat the Nuggets 107-103 in the NBA's preseason opener at Abu Dhabi

Jaylen Brown gets up for a big slam

The Celtics and Nuggets will finish their two-game set in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Denver sat its starters in the second half and Boston sat four of its five starters after halftime, with Luke Kornet the exception. The teams combined to use 36 players — 18 apiece.

Payton Pritchard had a game-high 21 points for Boston, which was 20 of 61 from 3-point range. The Celtics' trio of Olympic gold medalists from this summer's Paris Games — Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White — combined to score 25 points and Jaylen Brown had eight for Boston.

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 14 for Denver. Russell Westbrook had 12 in his first outing with the Nuggets, while Michael Porter Jr. scored 12 and Jamal Murray — who was in street clothes on the bench by the end of the game — had three points in 15 minutes.

The NBA signed a deal with tourism officials in Abu Dhabi in 2021 to send teams there for preseason trips; the series started with Milwaukee and Atlanta in 2022, and Dallas and Minnesota went last year.

USA Basketball has played in Abu Dhabi in each of the last two summers as well as part of its tuneups for the 2023 Basketball World Cup in the Philippines and the Paris Games.

Regular Season Series

BOS wins series 2-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 107 - 103
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 107 - 103
4th 1.1 Gabe McGlothan bad pass (Ron Harper Jr. steals) 107 - 103
4th 2.1 JD Davison makes free throw 2 of 2 107 - 103
4th 2.1 Ron Harper Jr. enters the game for Dmytro Skapintsev 106 - 103

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bos.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBOS https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/den.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDEN
37-98 FG 37-86
37.8 Field Goal % 43.0
20-61 3PT 12-32
32.8 Three Point % 37.5
13-17 FT 17-26
76.5 Free Throw % 65.4
44 Rebounds 49
17 Offensive Rebounds 12
27 Defensive Rebounds 37
29 Assists 29
13 Steals 10
8 Blocks 2
17 Turnovers 23
1 Team Turnovers 1
18 Total Turnovers 24
0 Technical Fouls 1
0 Total Technical Fouls 1
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
24 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 27
12 Fast Break Points 11
30 Points in Paint 50
24 Fouls 24
7 Largest Lead 12
Denver Nuggets Denver Nuggets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Xavier Tillman, F Day-To-Day Nov 8
Jayson Tatum, F Out Oct 9

Game Information

Venue: Etihad Arena

Location: Abu Dhabi,
Attendance: 12,002 · Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 5 3 .625 - W3
Philadelphia 5 3 .625 - L2
Toronto 5 4 .556 0.5 W4
Boston 4 6 .400 2 L1
Brooklyn 1 8 .111 4.5 L1

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 9 1 .900 - W1
Denver 6 2 .750 2 W3
Portland 5 3 .625 3 W1
Minnesota 5 4 .556 3.5 W1
Utah 3 6 .333 5.5 L2
Full Standings

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