If Thursday was an NBA Finals preview, the Denver Nuggets appear quite good.

Nikola Jokic led Denver to a 115-109 victory over the Boston Celtics in a high-profile game between the NBA’s defending champions and the league’s best record, sweeping the season series in the process.

 

Jokic had a typical office night, scoring 32 points on 11-of-18 shooting, grabbing 12 rebounds, dishing out 11 assists, and committing one turnover. The MVP candidate appeared to be battling with an elbow ailment for most of the game, but he nonetheless orchestrated a great offensive performance against the NBA’s second-best defensive club.

 

The Celtics led for much of the first quarter, but a quick 9-2 surge at the conclusion gave the Nuggets an advantage they never relinquished. Boston came close, however. The Celtics knotted the game in the third quarter and cut a double-digit lead to two points in the final two minutes of play.

 

With 20 seconds remaining, Jokic and Gordon reacted as follows:

 

Jaylen Brown would have been the Celtics’ hero, scoring 42 points on 16-of-27 shooting, adding 13 rebounds, four assists, and three steals. It wasn’t enough to offset Jayson Tatum’s 14 points. Boston also shot 11 of 37 from three-point range.

The win puts the 43-20 Nuggets only a game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top seed in the West, with the Oklahoma City Thunder a half-game back.