The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics battled in the second game of their preseason matchup in Abu Dhabi this morning. It wasn’t nearly as competitive by the end as the first matchup, with the Celtics winning 130-104 behind an overwhelming three quarter run.

Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Julian Strawther, filling in as a starter for Michael Porter Jr., added 17 points.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum went to work for the Celtics, finishing with 21 and 17 points respectively. They were flashing their isolation games throughout the day, and the Nuggets struggled to earn stops against the top tier scoring wings on most possessions.

Porter and Aaron Gordon sat out the second matchup in the starting unit, and all three of Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, and Peyton Watson (already injured) didn’t play off the bench.

Porter and Gordon were replaced at the beginning of the game by Julian Strawther and Vlatko Cancar. Jamal Murray was able to find locations where he felt comfortable making jumpers by maybe forcing him to search for his shot early. In the first quarter, Nikola Jokic scored 11 points, including a three-pointer, demonstrating his aggressiveness.

Without five of their top nine rotation players, Denver’s lineups struggled scoring in the halfcourt, especially on the bench. The Nuggets ran Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji, and Dario Saric as their primary bench options in the first half, and the group was fortunate to draw fouls and get into the bonus early.

The bench shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line in their minutes but just 4-of-11 from the field and 0-of-5 from three and struggled to generate good looks.

When Jokic and Murray returned in the second quarter, the Nuggets stabilized a bit. Jokic continued playing aggressive and kept the Nuggets in it though. He finished the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in his 18 minutes, making some incredible shots and plays while looking like the best player in the world once again.

Overall, Denver trailed 67-60 in the first half, the competitive portion of this game. Unfortunately for the Nuggets, the game got out of hand in the third quarter when Jokic and Murray sat.

After the starting lineup of the Celtics played a few minutes, the backups carried on the assault. In the third quarter, Boston outscored Denver 42–16, and the Nuggets appeared to be playing very poorly on both ends. Denver found it difficult to produce any shots without Murray or Westbrook setting the tone. Nor did it appear that the defense was in the right place.

By the fourth quarter, both sides were playing their deep reserves. Julian Strawther came back in and made some nice plays, but he was pulled after a few minutes as both teams got a closer look at their rookies and deep bench lineups. Trey Alexander and Jamhir Young looked solid for Denver, but Jalen Pickett really struggled.

The reserves never really cut into the massive lead Boston built in the third. The game finally ended with the Nuggets losing big, 130-104