BOSTON — It wasn’t supposed to be a playoff simulation.
DeAndre Jordan was supposed to play backup center. Minutes and rotations were supposed to be standard protocol. It was a regular-season game. The 43rd regular-season game.
But when Michael Malone acts on sheer competitive instinct, the Nuggets coach can become a daring gambler. Or maybe just a madman.
“We we were all in,” he said Friday night. “We put all of our chips in.”
In a gutsy game of on-the-fly adjustments from Malone and unexpected endurance from his players, the Nuggets turned the 43rd regular-season game into their most impressive win of the year — a 102-100 tactician’s dream to thwart the Celtics’ bid for a perfect home record.