The Trail Blazers bounced back in Game 2
Portland pulled out a 97-90 victory over the Nuggets on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center to tie the teams’ Western Conference second-round series at 1-1.
The Trail Blazers took control early, entered halftime with a 15-point lead and held off a Denver run in the fourth quarter to come away with the win.
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, Portland’s stars, failed to find their rhythms offensively, but did just enough to help their team win. The pair combined for 34 points on 13 of 37 shooting.
D.O.L.L.A. with a triple 🎯 pic.twitter.com/UdEnNLWMC5
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 2, 2019
“Tonight, down the stretch, we kind of alternated," McCollum told reporters after the game about Lillard. "A couple of times I had it, a couple of times I told him, ‘Go get the ball. Take advantage of the matchup and make the right play.’
"That’s the type of player he is, the type of person he is. If he sees I have the hot hand or the advantage he defers and if I see he has the hot hand or an advantage, I tell him, ‘Go to work.’”
Center Enes Kanter recorded 15 points and nine rebounds while Al-Farouq Aminu chipped in 11 points, along with 10 boards for Portland, as well. Rodney Hood also came off the bench and reached double figures with 15 points.
Al-Farouq Aminu takes it himself... AND-ONE! #NBAPlayoffs #RipCity 76#MileHighBasketball 60
— NBA (@NBA) May 2, 2019
📺: @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/XW3Re5M777
The Nuggets, meanwhile, struggled from the field throughout the game. They knocked down just 35.1 percent of their total attempts and were an abysmal 6 of 29 from 3-point range.
Denver center Nikola Jokic tallied 16 points on 7-of-17 shooting and added an impressive 14 rebounds.
“They were aggressive, as a team, as a group," Jokic told reporters. "They were coming on my post-ups. But, that doesn’t really change how we play. It was a weird game for us. They didn’t even play that good, to be honest. They can play better than that. It was kind of weird game."
Despite the loss, the Nuggets out-rebounded Portland, 58-47.
Nuggets wing Torrey Craig (nasal bruise) and Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless (ankle) both left the game with injuries in the first half. Craig eventually returned in the third quarter.
The series will now shift back to Portland, with Game 3 set for Friday. Denver won the opener, 121-113.