Recap: Denver Nuggets Fight and Survive Fourth Game against Portland Trail Blazers, 116-112

The Denver Nuggets were less than two days after their quad epic thriller against the Trail Blazers to prepare for a crucial game. Now, two games against one, a Nugget defeat would force them to do what only 5% of teams have done in NBA history: coming back from a 3-1 deficit. Thanks to the great performances of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, as well as Damian Lillard having been absent for two and a half quarters, the Nuggets were able to secure the victory. C.J. McCollum had a big night for the Blazers and Lillard had a crazy finish, but that was not enough and the Nuggets wanted to win 116-112 and tie the game to two games a game.

Jamal Murray opened the scoring for Denver with a circus shot over the board but the Nuggets struggled to get out of the way. However, they got their defense and started creating opportunities that allowed them to take a fast lead. Denver remains ahead of Portland as the quarter advances, getting a full effort. Murray had a big dunk and Paul Millsap wanted to be aggressive. Still, the Blazers were close. Jokic did not deal well with basketball at first, he had a pair of hideous turnovers that allowed Portland to get a 6-0 run. After a break, Millsap finally stopped the bleeding while trying to hurt herself. In spite of the bad performance of the ball, the Nuggets had a slight lead while the quarter ended. Lillard brought the complete package as a playmaker, hitting big shots, making good food and getting big interceptions. Michael Malone approached the bench to close the quarter, but Lillard was on fire and took over advantage for the Blazers on a 8-0 run. The two starters from Denver, Murray and Jokic, kept the Nuggets, but Portland was led by four after the first.

Jokic, Murray and Gary Harris opened the second quarter on the bench, which left the Nuggets looking for scoring options and they used a team effort. Will Barton had a runner, Malik Beasley converted one and one and Monte Morris overturned a midrange rider to allow Denver to regain the lead. After Barton hit three, the Blazers had to take a timeout. McCollum scored 5-0 to take the advantage over Portland. The Blazers earned a five point lead before Jokic and Murray returned to the game. Jokic immediately went to work on the offensive with five quick points, but Seth Curry was able to reverse the score. three. He hit three times in a row, which blocked the Denver offensive attack. The Nuggets were lethargic and the quarter ended. They did not make good decisions in attack and did not have energy in defense. Portland got two offensive rebounds with offensive rebounds, one for one and one. The referees did not call the fouls and the Nuggets were not able to finish the contact. Fortunately, the Blazers became a little cold, which allowed Denver to stay there. Curry hit a ridiculous three ring to push the head to six to half.

The Blazers opened the second half cold and the starters of the Nuggets opened with despair. They started the half with an 8-2 run to tie the game. Portland responded with their stars, getting buckets of McCollum and Lillard. Harris came back with a crazy lay-up and under. While the quarter was heading half-way, both teams were cold, Lillard in particular was freezing cold. The Blazers had a gap of 1 to 11, but Denver could not take advantage of the distance. The Nuggets still could not get anything in attack, but luckily the Blazers continued to make silly mistakes. After Enes Kanter was called for an offensive foul (his 4th), Millsap buried a three at the other end to advance the Nuggets by six. Malone stuck with starters in most of the third quarter stretch. They had late key baskets, including the second time in the night, Jokic went by the glass (unintentionally). Another Joker hook and a Mason Plumlee followed the Nuggets from seven to ten and they were almost ten at the end of the quarter, but Barton had missed three shots.

Beasley opened the fourth goal with a three to push the double-digit lead after Millsap grabbed an offensive shot. The other starters in Denver were resting, as was Lillard for the Blazers. Portland was able to respond with McCollum and Rodney Hood. Denver missed a few chances as McCollum scored two consecutive shots to bring the lead to two. The Nuggets tightened the D again but their table unit was frozen from the ground. Millsap made a mistake to stop the bleeding and Murray and Jokic returned to the game. McCollum carried the attack all by himself on the Portland side and the game remained tight when Lillard came back in the match in the seventh minute. He opened by burying a long distance three years after being terrible on the ground all night, but it was the sign of the future. Denver kept a two minute lead for a good three minutes, but they had the opportunity to do more and could not do it. They seemed a little disoriented on the offensive and called a timeout after an Al-Farouq Aminu followed reduced the lead to three. In less than three minutes, it was clear that if Portland had to win, it would be on the back of Lillard who would miss the ball every time. It was hot, but the Nuggets were also striking. Jokic seemed to hurt his leg one minute from the end and had to leave with the Nuggets lifted by six o'clock (he would come back very soon). Hood continued his clutch stroke by burying a three on the other side. The Blazers recovered the ball with 27 seconds to go and Lillard made a mistake, but managed one of two goals. Murray hit the two free throws on two consecutive trips to the other end to keep the Nuggets in the lead by four with six seconds to go. McCollum hit a long two and Murray toppled two more free throws to freeze him. Denver wins 116-112.

Best Match: Paul Millsap vs. Al-Farouq Aminu

Photo of Steve Dykes / Getty Images

Millsap was huge for the Nuggets tonight. He carried the offensive early and was incredibly effective from the ground up. It certainly began to fall in the second half, but still achieved a remarkable performance at both ends of the field and ended in a double doubled (21 points, 10 rebounds). Meanwhile, Aminu gave the Blazers a ton of energy and had a great night on the stats board himself (19 points, 8 rebounds). He was not able to slow many Millsap on the defensive side, which was a theme of this series, and he did not have his three goals tonight, but he gave the Blazers a life to more than one opportunity.

The main thing I noticed: Will Barton still had some huge moments

For the second consecutive game, Denver got big pots from William B. Buckets at the end of the game. In the last moments of the fourth quarter, he hit two huge triples who put the distance between the Nuggets and Blazers that Portland would never recover. It was another eventful night for Will, who needed 14 shots to score eleven points, but you hope that shooting down those shots in strong moments is one of the steps for you. he becomes again the great player we all know can be.

Final Thinking: Where You Want Them

It now becomes a series of three games with two games in Denver. The Nuggets lost their second game as they lost the first game against the San Antonio Spurs at home behind a ridiculously bad shot. Now that they have stolen the fourth game (as they did against the Spurs), they no longer have to win a game in Portland. Denver showed incredible strength in two games played in Portland. He almost stole the third game in four extra-time and won the fourth game on the road. Now, they must bring the same intensity to release the pressure on the Blazers and make them go home for the sixth match against the elimination.