Nikola Jokic
had 36 points and 11 rebounds, the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland
Trail Blazers 120-115 Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the
first-round playoff series.
Austin Rivers
hit four consecutive 3 pointers during a crucial stretch in the
final quarter and finished with 21 points for third-seeded Denver,
which had 20 3s overall.
The Blazers
struggled from 3-point range and got poor shooting from their bench
players despite cheers from the biggest home crowd allowed at the
Moda Center this season. Damian Lillard led all scorers with 37
points.
Game 4 is
Saturday at the Moda Center.
Denver led
84-79 heading into the final period, but Portland tied it at 91 on
Carmelo Anthony’s 3-pointer with just under seven minutes to
play.
Rivers’ third
straight 3-pointer put the Nuggets up 102-94 with 3:49 left and his
teammates rushed over to celebrate with him as a timeout was
called.
The Blazers
were hurt when Jusuf Nurkic fouled out with 5:15 left. Nurkic
finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Portland
pulled within 108-103 after Lillard’s dunk with 1:38 left, but
Rivers answered with another 3-pointer that all but sealed it.
Rivers had five 3-pointers.
Sixth-seeded
Portland opened the first round with a 123-109 victory in Denver.
But the Nuggets adjusted to take Game 2 128-109.
The playoffs
have been a scrappy battle for points between Lillard and Jokic.
Lillard was averaging 38 points and 11.5 rebounds through the first
two games, while Jokic averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets
led by as many as 12 points in the opening half as Portland
uncharacteristically struggled from the perimeter. The Blazers’
bench also struggled, with just three points collectively in the
opening half.
Denver made
12 of its 20 3-point attempts and led 64-59 at the break.
Jokic made
back-to-back 3 pointers to put the Nuggets up 75-64, but Portland
responded with a 11-2 run to get within 77-75.
Portland made
just 14 of 45 3-point attempts in the game.
Denver’s
playoff record for 3s in a game is 22, set last year in the opening
round against Utah.
FAN
SUPPORT
The Blazers
were allowed to increase capacity to a maximum of 8,000 fans for
the playoff games at the Moda Center. That was up from the 10%
capacity (about 1,900 fans) for the final four games of the regular
season.
Portland also
added sections with no social distancing requirements for fully
vaccinated fans.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Will
Barton went through pre-game warmups with the Nuggets, but remained
out with a hamstring strain. He has missed 16 games. ... The
Nuggets went 14-6 over their final 20 road games of the regular
season.
Trail
Blazers: Back in 2019 when the Blazers downed the Nuggets in seven
games in the Western Conference semifinals, Portland won Game 3
with the series tied at 1-1. That Game 3 was an epic four-overtime
clash with the Blazers prevailing 140-137.