Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone praised rookie Christian Braun for making a huge defensive play on Jayson Tatum in Sunday’s 123-111 home win vs. the Boston Celtics (2 points/2 rebounds/1-1 FG).

(via Denver Nuggets):

“I just told him this, one of my favorite plays, if not the favorite play of the night, was a winning play by Christian Braun in transition. Zeke [Nnaji] had one in the 1st half getting back on Jaylen Brown, hell of a play, not giving up. And then Christian had one in front of our bench where Jayson Tatum looks like he’s gonna have a transition layup, and Christian, he doesn’t know any better, that’s what I love about him, he sprints back.

“He’s wired that way. He’s a winner. The guy has won in high school, he’s won in college, and he’s gonna win in the NBA. And that winning play of getting back and taking away 2 transition points, who knows, maybe that’s the difference. Tatum sees it go in, he goes on a roll. Simple, little plays like that can have a huge impact. It’s not always about the stat line, it’s about your impact, and Christian was impactful tonight.”