Murray and Jokic help Nuggets hand Celtics their first loss at home this season, 102-100

BOSTON (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 35 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 34 and the Denver Nuggets held on to hand the Boston Celtics their first home loss of the season, 102-100 on Friday night.

Jokic added 12 rebounds and nine assists to help the defending NBA champions end the Celtics' streak at 20 straight home victories. It was the first of two regular-season meetings between teams with sights on representing their respective conferences in the NBA Finals. They play again in Denver on March 7.

Jayson Tatum had a chance to tie it in the closing seconds, but he missed a one-legged fadeaway off the rim. He finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Derrick White had 24 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 21.

Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP, feasted on a Celtics defense that opted not to double-team him for most of the game. He was efficient, connecting on 14 of 22 field attempts. It also didn’t stop him from finding his teammates, as he had nine of his assists in the first three quarters.