All the critical elements for an epic comeback were there for the Boston Celtics to take late in their 115-109 road loss to the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. But it wasn’t meant to be after unfocused play and poor free throw shooting doomed Boston as much as Jayson Tatum’s errant trey did. “That corner 3, it was a good shot,” said the St. Louis native of the missed game-winner. “I thought it was going in. We had some opportunities.”

Instead, it missed its mark, as did the Celtics efforts to beat the reigning champs in their own arena. But Denver deserves at least as much credit as Boston does criticism for how they closed out the game.

“That’s a really good team over there,” admitted Tatum postgame via CLNS Media. “Well coached.”

“They make the right plays more often than not, and you’ve got to beat them. You can’t depend on them to beat themselves — they’re just a really good ball club over there.”

It’s not easy to win a title, and the Nuggets gave Boston an up-close look at what it will take the Celtics to do it for the second time this season. It’s a lesson the team needs to take to heart — hopefully the sting of this loss makes that easier to do, for their sakes.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire