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The No. 2 ranked Nuggets may have beaten Nikola Jokic to a first-game win, but the second match did not work as well for Denver, the Portland Trail Blazers equalizing the series with a 97 90 Wednesday.
The Blazers dominated the Nuggets for the last 43 minutes of the game. Portland holding only Denver only 35.1% of field shots and 21.4% of the back. Jokic was held to only 16 points on 7 out of 17 shots after his 37-point performance in the first match.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined only 13 for 37, but they were helped by Enes Kanter's and Rodney Hood's 15-point performances, which helped to delay the Nuggets push towards the end Match. Portland will look to continue the momentum of the second game to take the lead in the third game Friday night in Portland.
Here are some takeaways from Game 2, as well as everything you need to know about the show.
Blazers beat Jokic by blitzing with defenders
Jokic may have had a nice 16-point statistics line, 14 rebounds and seven assists for this game, but the result is that he was completely stopped by the Blazers defense this time around. The Blazers bombed several defenders, canceling his ability to take over – as he had done in the first game by scoring 37 points.
All the Nuggets' offensive unit has had difficulties, but it goes as far as Jokic takes them. Jokic was stunted – and the Nuggets as a whole unit never recovered.
Blazers cast wins second match
When you heard that the Blazers had won the second game, you probably assumed that Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum had exploded and played in 30-point games. But they did not do it.
Lillard had a terrific match, shooting just 5 points on 17 of the field and 1 on 7 at 3 points while finishing with just 14 points. McCollum was better, but he did not dominate – he scored 20 points on 20 shot attempts.
However, the starting center, Enes Kanter, had a huge impact throughout the match with his 15-point performance and nine rebounds. Rodney Hood scored 15 points to lead all players on the bench while making the biggest shot of the game with two minutes remaining, converting into a 3-point effort to give the Blazers a 94-84 lead.
In other words, the Blazers' players – not their star duo – won the second match.
Nuggets forget how to shoot
While Jokic struggled to play in the second game, the support cast did not help him – not at all. The second Nuggets scoring option, Jamal Murray, was converted into just 15 field goal attempts to get 15 points, while Gary Harris had 4 points out of 12 for 12 points.
As a whole unit, the Nuggets were missing in every way imaginable. They shot 34.7% of the field, 20.7% of the 3-point range and 61.5% of the free throw line.
While the Blazers adapted and adjusted their game plan to slow down Jokic, the rest of the Nuggets had open shots throughout the match and simply missed them – at home, no matter where.
No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers
How to watch match 3
- Date: Friday, May 3
- Time: 22:30. AND
- Location: Moda Center – Portland, Oregon
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live Statistics: GameTracker
- Streaming Online: WatchESPN
- chances: N / A
Summary of live updates
CBS Sports will be with you throughout the second match between the Nuggets and the Blazers. If you can not see the live app below, click here please.
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