BOSTON — The Celtics found a way to win to beat the Denver Nuggets on Sunday despite another near triple-double from Nikola Jokic. The three-time NBA MVP posted 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in the 110-103 loss, but the Celtics did well to ensure he didn’t take over the game offensively.

Boston had two bigs — Al Horford and Luke Kornet — in the starting lineup with center Kristaps Porzingis sidelined by an illness, but Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla’s approach to containing Jokic was centered around limiting everything around the Nuggets star.

“We didn’t talk anything about Jokic in the game plan,” Mazzulla said. “It’s not about him. It’s about controlling all the other stuff that you can control. They’re one of the best teams in the league on cuts.

“Can you take all their cuts? Can you take away their transition leak outs by not turning it over, by crashing the offensive glass? Can you try to keep him off the free-throw line? Can you win the minutes that he’s not on the court? You don’t really talk about him in a game plan. You talk about all the other stuff that you can control.”

Jamal Murray had a big second half, scoring 22 points, but otherwise the Celtics did a well keeping Denver’s supporting cast in check. The Nuggets shot just 34 percent from 3-point range and got to the free-throw line just 13 times as Boston tightened up defensively and ensured Jokic couldn’t pick them apart with his passing.

“You don’t really talk about it but you know everything runs through him,” Horford said. “He’s such a smart player that it’s difficult. So what you want to do is, to Joe’s point, is try to limit other guys the best way that you can and take away certain tendencies and things like that.

“I felt like Luke and Neemi, the job that they had to do tonight, navigating defensively, when to help, when to step back, protect the paint. Those two in particular, I feel like they did a great job being really in sync and understanding the game plan that we had.”

Horford was also a big part of achieving that philosophy by being able to hold his own in single coverage against Jokic on several possessions in the post.

“I just like to compete,” Horford said of his defense. ‘It comes down to that. In Jokic’s case, in my opinion, he’s probably the top player in our league right now. It’s just so much that he does. He’s so difficult to defend because he’s so unpredictable.”

THE CELTICS MOVED quickly Sunday to fill their open two-way spot, agreeing to a deal with forward Miles Norris of the G-League Memphis Hustle, a league source confirmed to MassLive.

Norris, 24, averaged 17.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 36 games in the G-League this season. The 6-foot-7 forward is known for his outside shooting. He has made 38 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Norris will replace Anton Watson as a stretch big for the Celtics. Boston released the second-round pick on Sunday after he made 21 appearances with the Maine Celtics in the G-League, posting 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 18 starts. Watson struggled with his shot in Maine, shooting just 42.8 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from 3-point range.

The Celtics now have all of their two-way slots filled again after the Norris signing. Boston had until March 4 to sign a player to a two-way contract this season.