The Boston Celtics lost their first game at the TD Garden this season to the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets, 102-100, in what was a real feel playoff atmosphere on Friday night in Boston.

Kristaps Porzingis scored the first 11-points for Boston and matched the production of the two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, as they each scored 15-points in the first quarter.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown struggled from behind the arc in this one, combining for only 2-of-17. Jrue Holiday didn’t take many shots, finishing 3-of-7 and scored seven points.

Derrick White finished with a team-high 24-points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field and 5-of-12 from behind downtown. He also made five assists and had three rebounds.

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla drew a play with 13.4 seconds left in the game. White’s inbound pass went to Brown, who drove to the paint and kicked it out to Porzingis, who was immediately smothered by Jokic before he passed it to Holiday. There was 8.5 seconds burned off the clock before Mazzulla called a timeout to draw up another play with 4.9 seconds left in the game.

The play was designed to get Tatum in a one-on-one situation and hope the best player on the team would be able to hit a game-winning shot to end the game. Tatum received a high inbound pass with Kentavious Caldwell-Poe guarding him. He rushed the process and was thinking too much about the potential foul situation, causing him to miss the shot at the end.

After the missed shot, Tatum walked off the court shocked and maybe a little disappointed in himself. During his postgame press conference, he admitted that he probably rushed the shot and he didn’t give himself enough time, as this is a moment he can learn from moving forward.

Tatum will learn from this moment and be better prepared for when it happens again, possibly in a bigger game down the line.

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