Nuggets at Celtics
The Denver Nuggets have lost 10 of their last 11 games and did not get off to a great start on their Eastern Conference road trip with a setback at Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Nuggets will try to end the slide on the second night of a back-to-back when they visit the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. The Celtics snapped a three-game skid with a win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday and posted a 100-99 triumph in Denver on Jan. 23.
The loss to Boston began a streak of four straight losses to sub-.500 teams from the Eastern Conference, and the Nuggets fell behind by as much as 28 points at the lowly 76ers before a rally over the final 15 minutes made the final score a more respectable 105-98. The offense is the biggest problem for Denver, which has failed to reach 100 points in any of the last five games and eight of nine. The Celtics were having their own problems scoring before knocking down 54.5 percent from the field in Tuesday’s 108-97 triumph.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (19-30): Part of Denver’s problem on the offensive end is the shooting slump from Ty Lawson, who leads the team in scoring at 16.3 but is putting up 7.3 points on 9-of-35 shooting in the last four contests. Lawson handed out 14 assists Tuesday but went 1-of-4 from the field while failing to score in double figures for the third time in four games. The point guard position is not getting much of a boost from backup Jameer Nelson, who is putting up 3.8 points on 25.8 percent shooting in the last five games.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (17-30): Guard Avery Bradley is wearing a protective sleeve on his left thumb due to a small fracture but did not have any trouble using his other hand while going 11-of-14 from the field en route to 26 points in the win over the Knicks. Bradley has scored in double figures in eight straight games and buried three 3-pointers in the Jan. 23 meeting in Denver. Boston shuffled its lineup Tuesday, pushing rookie Marcus Smart into the starting lineup at point guard while sliding Evan Turner to small forward.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets C JaVale McGee (illness) sat out Tuesday and is day-to-day.
2. Celtics F Tayshaun Prince (hip flexor) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.
3. Boston has taken 14 of the last 16 at home against Denver.