DENVER – “We should have been 4-0, but the next best thing was 3-1,” Joe Mazzulla said after the Celtics beat the Nuggets 118-106 to complete a four-game road trip.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 29 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks, continuing a strong streak in individual basketball.

Jrue Holiday had his best game in over a month with 19 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block.

And Kristaps Porzingis finished the game with 25 points on 9-18 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, taking advantage of one mismatch after another.

Highlights of the road trip included a last-second win against the Timberwolves, a win against the Rockets and a comfortable win against the Nuggets. And of course, there was a second-half collapse against the Thunder that was the only loss of the week.

But despite the ups and downs of the last month, with Tuesday’s win, the Celtics improve to 27-10 on the season – good for third-best in the NBA. (For comparison, the Celtics had a 28-9 record in 37 games last season).

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It was an inspiring performance for the Denver Nuggets, who held on for most of the night despite being without both Nikola Jokic (illness) and Aaron Gordon (calf strain). The Celtics built a 15-point lead in the first half, but saw it disappear when the Nuggets beat them by 12 points in the second quarter thanks to Russell Westbrook (26 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists) and Jamal Murray ( 19 points) surpassed, 4 assists) leads the way.

That’s the kind of shorthanded comeback run that would normally drown out an opposing team’s fan base – but even during that stretch, the cheers of the Celtics fans in attendance were audible.

As a result, the game never felt like a TRUE Away game where thousands of Celtics fans made their presence known every time their team scored. The same was the case in Houston, Chicago, Washington DC, Brooklyn and several other cities the Celtics traveled to this season.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics finally had a double-digit lead – and if you didn’t know better, you’d think the game was being played in New England, not across the country in Colorado.

The only stop on the Celtics road trip that felt like a true away game was Oklahoma City – Denver had sporadic chants of “Let’s Go Celtics” throughout the game, even as the momentum was on the Nuggets’ side.

And when the final buzzer sounded, the mostly green remaining crowd — nearly 2,000 miles from TD Garden — rose to its feet.

Kristaps Porzingis is having his best game of the season

After missing four games with a sprained ankle, Porzingis played in the final three games of the Celtics’ four-game road trip and capped it off with perhaps his best performance of the season.

“I thought he had a big performance on both ends of the floor tonight,” Joe Mazzulla said. “The way the little ones have been attacking him this season I think has been the most physical he’s ever shown and I thought that was the most intentional way we’ve tried to not just give him the ball “but also getting in.” the paint compared to smaller matchups. So we just have to work through those.”

Porzingis, who has only played more than 20 minutes in 10 games this season, projects an 80-85% recovery time and notes he still needs to find a better rhythm from a shooting standpoint.

“I felt good,” he said. “Of course I have to get myself back in shape. I know everyone expects this from me. I showed that last season and now I’m working my way back up. And honestly, I think tonight was one of the first games where I felt like I was close to feeling healthy, feeling good and getting back into shape.”

Jayson Tatum praised Porzingis for contributing to a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter that virtually put the game out of reach.

“Just the vigor with which he played on offense — drawing fouls, attacking the mismatches, getting offensive rebounds, getting some putback dunks — the way he played tonight was much needed.”

Porzingis has battled countless lower leg injuries this season, including a heel strain and multiple ankle sprains, but he appears to be the healthiest player all year.

Needless to say, it was frustrating to be in and out of the lineup.

“It always excites me a little bit, you know? Of course I’m human and I want to play, and it’s hard to come back from an injury,” Porzingis said. “You are not in perfect shape and expect a lot from yourself. Of course you’re working on it. But fortunately or unfortunately, I’ve been in situations like this before, so I know how to recover and try to get into a rhythm quickly.”

The Celtics wanted redemption after the loss to OKC – Jokic or not

There has been a trend in recent seasons for the Celtics to struggle when opposing teams’ best players sit. A notable example was last year when the Lakers came to town and sat LeBron James and Anthony Davis – but still managed a double-digit win.

Tonight – with the game tied at halftime and the Nuggets without both Jokic and Aaron Gordon – it seemed like things could be headed for another disappointing end.

“Obviously they’re not better without him,” Tatum said of Jokic. “But some of those one-off games where the best player on the team is out, we’ve lost some of those games.”

But Porzingis said the Celtics didn’t overlook Joki.

“I think the last game burned us a little bit – the way we played offensively. That’s why we wanted to come back with this game, with high concentration and high effort and a good performance,” Porzingis said.

Before the game, Joe Mazzulla discussed how to forestall potential disappointment.

“How can you be proactive?” he said. “I think it comes down to just understanding what they look like when he’s not available. You have Murray, you have Porter. These two guys are two quality guys that can impact the game. But it’s really just everyone. It just comes down to attention to detail – what their personnel is, how we can impact the game defensively and what it looks like offensively.”

It may not have been the perfect 48-minute performance – but ultimately it was enough to end a challenging road trip with a win.