----- Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists as the Denver Nuggets lowered the boom on the Portland Trail Blazers 120-107 Friday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Trail Blazers ran out of gas in Denver!
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, and 11 assists and Jamal Murray added 25 points and 12 assists as the Denver Nuggets topped the Portland Trail Blazers 120-107 Friday night at Ball Arena in Denver.
Damian Lillard scored a game-high 34 points but connected on just 4-of-11 from beyond-the-arc and Jerami Grant finished with 20 points for Portland (17-16). Anfernee Simons struggles continued as he scored just 14 points on 6-of-22 shooting.
The Blazers connected on just 9-of-35 from three-point range.
The Nuggets shot 58% from the field and finished with a 66-52 edge in points in the paint.
Jusuf Nurkic finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. He fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. His absence gave Jokic the space to operate late. He poured in eight points in the final 5:03 of the game.
The Blazers took a 64-58 halftime lead after outscoring the Nuggets 37-26 in the second quarter thanks to a combined 24 points from Lillard and Grant.
The Nuggets took control of the game in the third quarter with a 17-0 run.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers return to Portland to meet the Charlotte Hornets Monday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- Hopefully Clarence Odbody will be sent to fix the Trail Blazers defense following this road trip.