Once the preseason games were tipped off in Abu Dhabi, the attention went from where the games were played to how they were played. The defending champion Boston Celtics faced off against the dethroned Denver Nuggets. The Celtics repeated the same journey the Nuggets failed to execute earlier this year.

The orchestrated match drew the attention of an enthusiastic international audience. While the fans in attendance favored the historically rich Celtics, the Nuggets’ presence helped put the team and the city of Denver on the global map, reciprocating what the NBA did for Abu Dhabi.

With the game featuring two NBA powerhouses, only the beginning of the first quarter of the first game was a closer representation of what a regular season game would look like. Both teams’ starters played most of their minutes in that time frame. From there, it was a mixture of the second and third-unit players fighting to make a name and place for themselves in their team’s rotation. The Nuggets would win that first quarter in Game One, 32-25.

The Nuggets would build on that lead, going ahead by as many as 12 points in the third quarter. Boston would surge back in the fourth quarter before winning 107-103 to take the opener. The second unit for Denver finished the fourth quarter trailing by just 2 points with 4 seconds left in the game. Game Two would be a runaway for the Celtics as they beat the Nuggets in a blowout, 130-104. Nikola Jokic was the Nuggets leading scorer in both games, with 14 and 20 points, respectively.

(See the Nuggets-Celtics Abu Dhabi Photo Gallery at www.SportsReportNet.com)

“Overall, a great experience while being here,” said Nuggets coach Mike Malone after Game Two. “Not the way we wanted to finish up this trip but we’ll go home, get some rest, then attack these next couple of weeks leading up to our season opener.”

Russell Westbrook got his first action in a Denver Nuggets uniform playing in Abu Dhabi with mixed results. Coming off the bench, Westbrook played for 18:32 minutes, more than any starters. In that time, Westbrook finished with 12 points, including 3-for-6 in three-pointers and a game-high 8 assists. Westbrook did not play in game two, along with starters Aaron Jordan and  Michael Porter, Jr. Boston played their starters in both halves of Game Two.

“I don’t get caught up in losses in preseason, I get caught up in - are we getting better - and that’s the most disappointing thing about tonight,” Malone said about game two. “Obviously, Boston’s a very good team. They played some of their guys into the third quarter, we did not. In that third quarter obviously 42-16, that was a tough quarter for us.”  

Returning to Denver, the Nuggets released three players before the preseason game at home on Sunday. Gabe McGlothan, Jaylin Williams (Auburn), and Jahmir Young were among the first cuts. The Nuggets have three more preseason games against the Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

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