The Nuggets almost survived to Jokic’s return. They were down 88-84. The last minute without him was a near-death sentence, though. Sam Hauser knocked down a transition drive-and-kick 3-pointer to bring the house down with 8:11 to go, highlighting a 6-0 burst.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points and Derek White hit a floater from the foul line with less than a minute left to help the Boston Celtics recover after blowing most of a 20-point first-half lead and beat the Denver Nuggets 110-103.

The Boston Celtics avoided their first three-game losing streak of the season on Sunday, thanks in large part to a vintage performance by Al Horford.