The Denver Nuggets showed up in Portland for a game against rival Trail Blazers and just came away with a victory in a contested battle that sometimes felt like a playoff atmosphere. The Nuggets starters all scored in double-digit numbers led by Nikola Jokic, who has 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and clutch performance in the game’s declining minutes helped Denver avoid a potential winning shot. game by Norman Powell.
Denver and Portland went back and forth throughout the game, but the Nuggets almost let the blazers get away several times. What comes to my mind the most is the third and beginning of the fourth trimester. Denver led the half, but checked completely to start the third, as Portland went 18-2 at one point. Somehow, the bench line of PJ Dozier, Shaq Harrison, Austin Rivers, JaMychal Green and Paul Millsap stopped the bleeding and kept Denver in it. The rookies didn’t even return until there were just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter, just in time for Jokic to do Jokic things and hold on to victory.
The individual shows were … interesting. Michael Porter Jr. had a perfect first quarter, shooting 8-for-8 and collecting 17 points in what looked like a huge night for him. However, he didn’t get a shot in the second quarter and missed the remaining four shots he made in the game. In the third quarter, he was called up for a flagrant foul for kicking off a three-point attempt, a ridiculous call given how many star players are fishing free throws like in the NBA today, but still technically a correct call. MPJ is so good when he gets touched, but it really seemed like the Nuggets deviated from that after the first quarter, which is a real shame because he was enlightened.
The bank unit mentioned above had both good times and bad times. The first period of the second quarter was awful and raised questions as to why Malone wouldn’t put JaVale McGee in the center when Portland plays big with Kanter in the second unit. However, this unit practically saved the game in the third and fourth. Dozier-Harrison-Rivers was a pretty stupid defensive unit and it was good to see that Austin had an immediate impact for Denver.
In the end, the Nuggets did their best not to let Dame Time take over in the fourth. Lillard finished with 22 points, but was just 2-for-6 in the fourth quarter. It wasn’t beautiful, but the win is a win, and when Jusuf Nurkic passed, it’s always sweet.