Their spirit was willing but the depleted Nuggets couldn’t quite hang with the defending NBA champions Celtics Tuesday night at Ball Arena. Playing without center Nikola Jokic, who was scratched before the game with a non-COVID illness,

The Denver Nuggets are set to face off against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night in a pivotal game for the Nuggets, as they'll have a chance to prove themselv

Denver Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic was ruled out of Tuesday night's home 118-106 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Nikola Jokic will miss his fourth game of this season due to illness. He did not warm up before the Nuggets hosted the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

DENVER — Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was sidelined for Denver’s clash with Jayson Tatum and the Celtics on Tuesday night because of an illness. The Nuggets center went from probable to questionable to out over the course of the day. He was seen leaving the arena a little more than an hour before tipoff.

The Boston Celtics held off the depleted Denver Nuggets 118-106 on Tuesday night as Nikola Jokic sat out because of an illness.

The Celtics withstood a valiant upset bid by the Nuggets without Nikola Jokic to close out their road trip with a 118-106 win in Denver.

After squandering a 15-point first half lead, the Celtics and Nuggets played a nip and tuck game for most of the second half until Boston took command midway through the fourth quarter. With Jamal Murray on the bench, the Celtics erupted with a 15-0 run, breaking the game open in the final five minutes of the win.

It has been apparent even to the untrained eye that KP has not been himself when on the court for the Celtics since returning from an ankle injury.

The Celtics won’t need to worry about facing one of the NBA’s best players Tuesday night in Denver. An hour before tipoff at Ball Arena, three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic was ruled out due to illness, leaving a crater in the Nuggets’ lineup.