----- Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, and five assists as the Denver Nuggets edge the Portland Trail Blazers 106-105 Wednesday night at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Another night, another one-point loss for the Trail Blazers!
Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points and nine rebounds and Michael Porter Jr. added 17 as the Denver Nuggets handed the Blazers their third-straight loss with a 106-105 win Wednesday night at Moda Center.
Damian Lillard returned to the lineup Wednesday night after missing three games with a hamstring injury and led Portland (32-26) with 22 points.
Jusuf Nurkic returned after missing Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Clippers (injury management) and finished with eight points, seven rebounds, and six assists, Norman Powell added 17 points, and Carmelo Anthony added 12.
Lillard's pullup jumper tied the game at 103 with 1:37 left. Jokic made three free throws in the final 90 seconds to put the Nuggets up 106-103 before Lillard's layup got the Blazers within one, but it was as close as they could get. After a jump ball, Norman Powell's floater at the buzzer was off.
"Three of our last four losses now have been last shot, could have gone one way or the other. So I was pleased with the way we competed for most of the game. We had a couple lulls offensively in the second quarter, but we competed throughout the game and we put ourselves in a position to win against a good team," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.
The loss dropped the Trail Blazers to just 1-10 against the top 5 teams in the Western Conference and are just 3-8 in their last 11 games overall.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will host the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Blazers now 1-10 against the top 5 teams in the Western Conference.