----- The Nuggets used a 23-2 second half run to bury the Trail Blazers 112-103 Sunday night at Ball Arena in Denver.
The defending champs turn up the heat on the Trail Blazers!
Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists as the Denver Nuggets drop the Portland Trail Blazers 112-103 Sunday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Portland (15-35) raced to a 37-25 lead at the end of the first after dishing out 10 assists and connecting on 6-of-10 from three-point range.
The Trail Blazers held a nine-point lead at 84-74 with 4:17 left in the third, but Denver went on a tear. The Nuggets closed the quarter on an 11-0 run taking a two-point lead at 86-84 heading into the fourth quarter.
Denver (35-16) put the game away by extending their run to 23-2 taking a double-digit lead at 98-86. The Nuggets' defense stifled the Blazers holding them to just 40 points on 38% shooting in the second half including just 1-of-13 from beyond-the-arc.
Deandre Ayton led Portland with 27 points and nine rebounds and Anfernee Simons finished with 26 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Scoot Henderson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Notes- With Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon unavailable, Kris Murray and Matisse Thybulle got the start next to Simons, Ayton, and Jabari Walker with Henderson and Toumani Camara coming off the bench.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers play their first of seven-straight at Moda Center Thursday night against the Detroit Pistons. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- No shame in losing to the defending champs in back-to-back games. The Blazers did some good things to build on moving forward.