The kneecaps on Al Horford’s pants were ripped ­— in a nod to the latest fashion — as he prepared to leave the Celtics dressing room in Denver late Monday night.

“He’s been hanging around us young guys too long,” said the 23-year-old Terry Rozier of the 31-year-old Horford.

But as the latter sat at his locker, Horford dispensed some veteran perspective and even some enthusiasm for the future that some might dare call youthful. When a guy who’s making his 11th trip around the NBA block can be “special,” you pay attention.

The Celtics just survived the Nuggets with a 111-110 victory to complete a four-game trip that also included a one-point loss to the Lakers, a handy 113-102 win over the Clippers and a tight 109-105 defeat at the hands of the defending champion Warriors.

As the team’s charter plane wound its way through to Denver, some figurative corners were turned, too, for a team that leads the Eastern Conference at 36-15.

“I think so,” said Horford as the room was nearly clear. “Even that Laker game I think we played good. That could have gone our way. It didn’t, but I felt like those three games after London at home, it just wasn’t good for us. We played terrible. These four games here we played much better, and I hope we can build off of this. Now we have an opportunity to go home and start building some momentum again.”

The two wins were nice, but people around the league sat up and took notice when they fought Golden State on nearly even terms. That one seems to mean a lot to the Celtics.

“No question,” Horford said. “I think it’s huge for our younger guys’ confidence and understanding that, if we play the right way and stick to our game plan, we can play with anybody and put ourselves in that position. And we proved against Golden State, not being 100 percent, obviously missing some guys, that we were right there and a play or two from winning that game. So I’m very encouraged from what I saw from our group going against them.”

Seeing where they are and could be may even make the Celtics work harder in the more supported belief that they have a chance to go very deep in the playoffs.

“I think it makes you realize that you have to be able to play at a certain level every night,” said Horford. “And if you can do it against Golden State, the goal is to be able to do it every night consistently. And that’s hard to do. It’s a long season. But we need to keep building on those habits, and if we do that, I feel like we have a chance to be special.

“We’re not there yet, but I feel like we’re starting to figure it out as a group.”

The problem with the Celts has been taking in-game vacations that force them to come back from large deficits in some games, and then playing down to the level of opponents in others.

“Every team goes through that, but I think that’s going to be part of our growth as a group, especially with our younger guys,” Horford said. “You know, we can’t underestimate any team. The regular season, it’s kind of like a rehearsal. That’s the way I look at it. I mean, at the end of the day, obviously you want to win, but you want to be playing the right way. That’s what I’m more worried about with our group. That and making sure there’s improvement.

“And even though we lost some games out here, I felt like in the Laker game there was some improvement. Golden State was an improvement. And that’s what I’m focused on at this point of the year.”

There have been standout efforts by people all the way through.

Kyrie Irving made 24-of-35 shots in Oakland and Denver for 74 points. He’s been MVP-caliber all season. Jayson Tatum has been inconsistent of late, but had 20 points against the Nuggets. Jaylen Brown hit the winning trey in Denver and has been a defensive key after the loss of Avery Bradley. Others have had more than a few moments.

But what’s encouraging to Horford is that the individual improvements are starting to bear collective fruit.

“It’s guys understanding that we have to play the right way and understanding that it’s about the team,” he said. “So as long as we keep building it, I feel like we’re going to be in a good position at the end of the year.”

Maybe even special.