Boston Celtics (NBA)

Despite having suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Utah Jazz 93-111 on Friday, the Celtics played with more heart and confidence on Sunday that led to a win against the Denver Nuggets.  The Celtics defeated the Nuggets 121-101 at Pepsi Center in Denver. Like Friday’s game against the Jazz, Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas was the star scorer of the game, leading the team with 22 points and 12 assists. The Celtics started the game determined to win and never let that goal out of sight. At halftime, the Celtics led 64-49, which gave them the confidence they needed to pull off a 20 point win against the Nuggets, who were ranked fourth in the Northwest Division with a season record of 22-33. The confidence from Sunday’s win was not quite strong enough to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, who barely defeated the Celtics 124-122 on Monday. The Celtics had a sleepy first quarter, trailing the Timberwolves 23-31, but they managed to pull themselves together and get within arms’ reach of a victory. The Celtics leading scorer against the Timberwolves was small forward Jae Crowder, who led the team with 27 points and three assists. Though the Celtics lost to a team with a losing record this season, this loss did not affect their conference or division standing. The Celtics are still ranked second in the Atlantic Division behind the Toronto Raptors with a 33-25 record. The Celtics will play the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.

Boston Bruins (NHL)

The Bruins defeated the Dallas Stars 7-3 on Saturday at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, which capped off the Bruins’ two weeks of away games in which they won four out of the six games they played. The Bruins leading scorer on Saturday was left wing Brad Marchand, who scored two goals and made one assist. Marchand is currently ranked fourth in the NHL in number of goals scored this season, making him one of the most valuable players on the team. This game also showed the importance of a goalie’s perseverance; the Bruins were down 3-1 at the end of the first period, but Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask went on to save 26 goals throughout the rest of the game. On Monday, the Bruins played the Columbus Blue Jackets at TD Garden, but the first home game in weeks did not prove to be helpful for the Bruins’ season record. The Bruins lost to the Blue Jackets 4-6, due in part to a defense that was not up to par with the Blue Jackets’ offense, as Bruins Head Coach Claude Julien described in a post-game interview. After their loss to the Blue Jackets, the Bruins are ranked third in the Atlantic Division behind the Florida Panthers and the Tampa Bay Lightning with a record of 32-22. The Bruins will play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at TD Garden.

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