The NBA returned to the Persian Gulf on Friday for the third year in a row, starting the preseason for the 2023-24 season with the Boston Celtics defeating the Denver Nuggets 107-103. This game featured the two most recent championship teams.
The Celtics and Nuggets will play their second game in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Denver rested its starters in the second half, and Boston held back four of its five starters after halftime, with Luke Kornet being the only starter who played. Both teams used a total of 36 players—18 from each side.
Payton Pritchard led Boston with 21 points, and the Celtics shot 20 out of 61 from 3-point range. Boston’s trio of Olympic gold medalists from this summer’s Paris Games—Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White—scored a combined 25 points, while Jaylen Brown added eight points.
For Denver, reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic scored 14 points. Russell Westbrook, in his first game with the Nuggets, scored 12 points, and Michael Porter Jr. also had 12 points. Jamal Murray, who was in street clothes on the bench by the end of the game, scored three points in 15 minutes.
The NBA made a deal with tourism officials in Abu Dhabi in 2021 to send teams there for preseason games. The series began with Milwaukee and Atlanta in 2022, followed by Dallas and Minnesota last year.
USA Basketball has also played in Abu Dhabi during the last two summers as part of its preparation for the 2023 Basketball World Cup in the Philippines and the Paris Games.
