Joe Mazzulla Makes Admission About Celtics Game Plan In Win Over Nuggets

BOSTON — Nikola Jokic is at the center of everything the Denver Nuggets want to do on the court.

The three-time league MVP was expected to be a massive part of the game plan, while the Boston Celtics worked to try to slow him down and cut off the head of the snake of one of the NBA’s best teams.

But Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics chose a much different approach.

Mazzulla revealed following Boston’s 110-103 win over the Nuggets at TD Garden on Sunday that the Celtics weren’t going to occupy themselves worrying about Jokic heading into the contest.

“We didn’t talk anything about Jokic in the game plan,” Mazzulla said. “It’s not about him. It’s about controlling all the other stuff you can control. They’re one of the best teams in the league on cuts. Can you take away all their cuts? Can you take away their transition leak outs by not turning it over, by crashing the offensive glass? Can you try to keep them off the free-throw line? Can you win the minutes that he’s not on the court?

“You don’t really talk about him in a game plan. You talk about all the other stuff that you can control.”

The Celtics only had limited success in holding down Denver’s other parts outside of Jokic. Jamal Murray struggled in the first half, but went on to net 22 of his team-high 26 points in the second half. Christian Braun also made an impact, chipping in with 22 points while Michael Porter Jr. did little in 40 minutes by scoring 10 points.

Meanwhile, Jokic did Jokic things but not to the degree that he took over the game with his otherworldly ability. The Nuggets superstar came close to a triple-double — not unusual at all for Jokic — as he notched 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Those figures are somewhat tame for Jokic, considering he averages 29.1 points per game.

The Celtics didn’t throw double teams at Jokic, which allowed them to carry out their game plan and stay focused on Denver’s ancillary pieces. And the Celtics have Al Horford to thank for that.

Horford took on the brunt of the defensive responsibility of guarding Jokic with Kristaps Porzingis not playing due to illness. The 38-year-old Celtics center held his own against the six-time All-NBA selection, drawing massive applause from Mazzulla.

“He’s one of the best players in the league at guarding other best players in the league no matter the position that they have,” Mazzulla said. “He was just elite tonight on the defensive end of the floor with his positioning, his communication, his physcality, his rebounding. It was amazing to watch.”