Celtics 106, Nuggets 98: Jordan Crawford had 22 points and eight assists and Kris Humphries added 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting as host Boston defeated Denver.

Avery Bradley scored 18 points and Jeff Green added 15 for the Celtics, who led by 24 points after the opening quarter. Brandon Bass contributed 14 points and eight rebounds.

Ty Lawson scored 20 points and J.J. Hickson added 17 for the Nuggets, who lost their second straight game. Randy Foye tallied 12 points and Nate Robinson added 11.

Denver trailed by 20 at halftime before whittling its deficit to 74-71 on two free throws by Foye with 4:12 left in the third quarter. The Celtics finished strong to take a 10-point lead into the final stanza and cruised to the finish.

Bradley scored 13 points in the opening quarter as Boston shot 65.4 percent from the field and took a 39-15 lead. The lead was 27 two minutes into the second quarter before the Celtics took a 64-44 edge into the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Boston has won 14 of its last 16 home meetings with Denver. … Andre Miller and Timofey Mozgov with 10 points each also scored in double digits for the Nuggets. … Crawford is averaging 21.7 points over the last three games.