That stemmed the tide of momentum for Denver. They did the smart thing when the distance shots weren’t falling, getting the ball to the rim instead. If the Blazers had hit open threes, they would have re-established their double-digit lead. Unfortunately, the substitution didn’t help Portland’s three-point shooting, which seemed to be turned to “off” position in the period. A Denver layup on the next possession put an end to the experiment.as Damian Lillard, then Jusuf Nurkic, checked back in. Denver closed it to 36-34 by the 8:00 mark. The strategy was right in theory, but in practice, those threes made Portland’s life hard. Unfortunately, the Nuggets’ reserves got on a hot streak from distance, hitting over the outstretched arms of mobile defenders. Their offense during this stretch was a steady diet of quick jumpers, but this had the effect of junking up the game a little bit, making it more YMCA than NBA. They did a much better job covering the three-point arc, but suffered slightly on the boards. He and Robert Covington were the tallest players on the floor. The Blazers went small to start the second, subbing in Rondae Hollis-Jefferson instead of Enes Kanter. The Blazers led 32-24 at the end of the first. Jokic had 7 points on 3-9 shooting after one but both Powell (10) and Nurkic (9) had outscored him. Facu Campazzo continued to cause them problems off the dribble drive, but Jokic missed nearly everything he took.all contested shots. When Powell and CJ McCollum started hitting threes-literally Denver’s only advantage to that point-the Blazers took a double-digit lead. Portland also pushed the tempo pretty hard, taking advantage of easy scoring on the fast break. That was one of the few flaws in their first-quarter game. They left Austin Rivers, today playing a starting role, open for threes and Doc’s Baby Boy made them pay. They also kept Nikola Jokic to the sides of the court, making him work hard for his attempts. They made Denver work on defense, which was half the battle. Powell scored off of bare penetration, Nurkic as part of screens down the middle of the floor. The Blazers started the game as they should, attacking the rim with Norman Powell and Jusuf Nurkic. CJ McCollum would add 21 and Jusuf Nurkic 17 for the Blazers, who held Denver to 34.0% shooting while firing 49.4% themselves. Norman Powell scored 29 all by himself on 11-15 shooting, while also leading his team on defense. Their four non-Nurkic starters totaled 29 points on 8-25 shooting. Facu Campazzo was Denver’s next-leading scorer with 12 points. This is where the Blazers completely outclassed the Nuggets. The game belonged to the supporting casts for both teams. Nikola Jokic didn’t shine either, shooting 7-18 for 16 points with 9 rebounds and but 1 assist. He balanced that with 10 assists and 8 rebounds. Portland blitzed Nikola Jokic, forced turnovers, and ran the floor hard on every possession, riding a wave of energy to a 115-95 victory and a 2-2 series tie.ĭamian Lillard had an off night from the field, shooting 1-10 from the field for 10 points. They did not pull a rabbit out of their hat. The Portland Trail Blazers came into Game 4 of their series with the Denver Nuggets down 1-2, needing to pull a rabbit out of a hat to avoid heading to back Denver for an elimination Game 5.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |