The Portland Trail Blazers more or less kept up with the Denver Nuggets in the first half but let go of the rope in the second, succumbing to seven Nuggets players (including all five starters) scoring in double digits and losing 128-112.
Player of the Game
Deni Avdija gets the nod for this distinction for 23 points and 14 assists. Also notable were Donovan Clingan (18 points and 13 rebounds) and Robert Williams III (16 and 5 rebounds). And for the winners: Nicola Jokic with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists.
Stat of the Night
This
game was a shooting contest, and it was close at the start. It didn’t stay that way. By the end, Denver shot 49 of 90 (54%) from the field and 18 of 46 (39%) from distance. Portland trailed in both categories, going 42 of 97 (43%) and 16 of 50 (32%). This was the last game of a five-game road trip for the Blazers, and it looked like it.
What We Noticed
The Blazers showed what they can do upon occasion with a blistering start. The Nuggets showed what they can do pretty much all the time. Jokic is more than one of the league’s most impactful players. He’s also one of the best ever. But the Nuggets are far from a one-man show: as mentioned before, they had seven players in double figures tonight.
Not-so-fun fact: this was apparently the 17th straight loss in Denver for the Blazers, but on the plus side, Portland finished the road trip 3-2.
Up Next
Portland will quickly fly home to see the cherry blossoms and face the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow, Mon. March 23 at 7pm Pacific in Portland.
