Denver 89, Boston 75
Wilson Chandler scored 16 points and hit the go-ahead 3-point basket in his Denver debut to help the Nuggets record an 89-75 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday.
Chandler’s 3-pointer with 4:11 remaining started a game-ending 16-0 run as Denver (34-25) won its third straight game and second in a row since dealing All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks.
Kenyon Martin also fared well for Denver with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half for Boston (41-15), which had a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Celtics went ahead 75-73 on Pierce’s 3-pointer with 6:05 remaining but didn’t score again. Martin had eight points during the decisive run.
Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 13 rebounds for Boston.
Chandler was the lone player acquired in the deal for Anthony to score in double figures. Danilo Gallinari had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting and Raymond Felton had four points on 2-of-8 shooting. Timofey Mozgov didn’t play.
Arron Afflalo had 13 points, Nene had 12 points and 10 rebounds and J.R. Smith added 12 points for the Nuggets.
Boston played with just nine players after making three trades on the day, including one that sent center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic and a first-round draft pick in 2012.