But for almost three and a half quarters, the Nuggets struggled without their all-round superstar. The game was tied with less than nine minutes left before Boston finally beat Denver with a 15-0 run that led to a 118-106 victory.

“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.”

For the Celtics, the victory helped take away the bitter aftertaste of Sunday’s frustrating loss to the Thunder and ensured a successful 3-1 Western Conference road trip. The players said they were hoping for perfection, but also acknowledged that this result wasn’t bad.

Tatum led the Celtics with 29 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 25. This score is normal for Tatum, but Porzingis’ performance felt the most notable. He’s not yet back to top form after missing the first 17 games of the year due to offseason ankle surgery, along with some serious injuries.

But Tuesday’s game reminded him that he is capable of doing damage. Porzingis punished the Nuggets with post-ups as smaller defenders switched to him, he sank 3 of 6 3-pointers, he grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and he fended off a dunk attempt by DeAndre Jordan against the 36-year-old from Denver The center tried to turn back the clock.

“I thought he had a big performance on both ends of the floor tonight,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “This season and the way the little ones are going against him, I thought it was the most physical thing he’s ever shown and I thought that was the intention with which we didn’t just give him the ball “We also got into the game against the little ones.” Encounters. So we just have to keep working on it.”

Porzingis said he is still in great shape and doesn’t feel completely healthy yet. But this performance was a good step.

“I know that’s what everyone expects of me,” he said. “I showed that last season and now I’m working my way back up. Honestly, I think tonight was one of the first games where I felt like I was feeling healthy and good and getting back into shape.”

On Tuesday morning, with Boston still reeling from its loss to Oklahoma City, Mazzulla reminded the team that all of its top rotation players were available in just two games this year. After that win, Porzingis started talking about how nice it was to have the whole team together again. Then he paused and remembered that Derrick White had been sidelined with an illness.

“I don’t think we were outstanding (against Denver), but I think we’re close,” Porzingis said. “I think we’ll turn the corner and make a good run.”

Russell Westbrook had 26 points to lead the Nuggets and he hit 4 of 9 3-pointers as Boston held back and mostly dared him to shoot. But he also lost eight balls.

With Jokic sidelined, star guard Jamal Murray became the focal point of Boston’s defense. The Celtics occasionally sent double teams his way, and aside from a brief rush in the second quarter where Murray caught fire in the basket, Boston did enough to ensure he never dominated in his 19-point night.

“Most of the game we were focused on making him play in a crowd against multiple defenders,” Mazzulla said, “and we withstood some difficult shots from those guys throughout the evening.” But you have to live with something and I do thought our defense was really good against Murray in the second half.”

The Celtics built a 15-point lead in the first half and entered halftime tied at 57 points. Boston, which scored 60 points in the game, made 10 of 12 two-point shots in the third quarter to move back to the lead. But a 3-pointer from Denver’s Christian Braun tied the game with 8:32 left in the fourth before the Celtics finally made their elusive, decisive run.

It started with a putback dunk from Porzingis and included 3-pointers from Jrue Holiday and Al Horford. After Luke Kornet blocked a 3-pointer from Westbrook, Tatum cut into the lane and hit an 11-footer. He added three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer, capping a 15-0 outing that gave Boston a 108-93 lead with 4:29 left. The lead was then secure.

“I think on that road trip I thought we became a better team,” Mazzulla said. “So we just have to keep going.”

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.