No team missing its three best players, including the reigning NBA MVP, should be able to come into the Moda Center and defeat the Portland Trail Blazers the way they’ve played at home this season.
So, it should have been no surprise that the Blazers ended their four-game homestand Tuesday night with a perfect 4-0 record after defeating the Denver Nuggets, who were without Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic, last season’s MVP.
The Blazers took advantage by taking command in the second quarter and maintaining a healthy lead the rest of the night on their way to a 119-100 win.
CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 32 points. He made 13 of 19 shots from the field, including 5 of 9 three-pointers, as the Blazers shot 50.6% from the field. Damian Lillard added 25 points, while making 9 of 13 shots, including 5 of 8 threes.
Denver also shot well — 48.7% from the field — but committed 17 turnovers.
Jeff Green led Denver with 24 points.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups said his team’s disruptive defense was strong.
“I thought our activity was great,” he said. “Our pressure was really good. We took the challenge knowing, obviously with no Joker, that there was gonna be some guys really kind of step up and try to take up for the loss. And they got some really capable dudes there. So, you had to fend off a letdown. I thought we did a good job. Active hands. Collecting the rebounds when we did have a good defensive possession. Taking care of the basketball at our end was big. It was a big win.”
WHAT IT MEANS
Before the homestand, the Blazers had returned home from a four-game trip with a 6-8 record. Now they will hit the road again, but do so at 10-8. So far, Portland is 9-1 at home but has struggled to look decent on the road, let alone accumulate victories. The Blazers are 1-7 away from the Moda Center. They will have a chance to improve in that area during an upcoming three-game trip that will include stops at Golden State (15-2) and Utah (11-6). The Blazers play at Sacramento on Wednesday.
GAME RECAP
McCollum scored 13 points in the first quarter on 5-of-6 shooting to lead the Blazers to a 33-27 lead. The Blazers shot 52.4% from the field and made 4 of 9 threes. But Denver hung in there despite committing eight turnovers, making 10 of 20 shots.
The Nuggets hung close in the second quarter and even took a 46-45 lead when Jeff Green hit a three-pointer with five minutes remaining, and again at 49-48 when he hit another three. From that point, Portland dominated.
Lillard hit a step-back three, then following a Norman Powell miss, lined up a 30-footer after center Jusuf Nurkic grabbed the rebound and kicked the ball back to the perimeter. After a stop, McCollum scored on a layup, a Powell steal led to another three from Lillard, and just like that the Blazers led 40-49. McCollum hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Blazers a 66-52 lead at halftime.
Lillard scored 12 in the quarter on 4-of-5 three-point shooting. He had 18 in the first half, while McCollum scored 19.
“The notable plays are Dame’s shotmaking, but it came from turnovers,” Billups said. “CJ had two really big on-ball steals at that point. Isolation situations; stepped up. Two steals that led to baskets. So, the defense really kind of sparked that run for us. I’ve sat up here several times talking about us closing out quarters and halves and I was very happy with how we closed out the first half. Defense led to good offense.”
The Blazers’ scoring slowed down in the third quarter, as they scored just 24 points while shooting 39.1% from the field. Denver shot 57.1%, but only scored 27 points, and trailed 90-79 heading to the fourth.
But Denver never truly threatened to get back into the game.
Lillard hit a three with 7:07 remaining to give the Blazers a 104-89 lead. Minutes later, Lillard and Powell scored on back-to-back layups to give Portland a 113-94 lead with 3:40 to go.
TRANSITION OFFENSE
The Blazers held a decisive 28-2 edge in fast-break points, thanks in large part to Denver’s 17 turnovers.
“I thought we did a good job of pushing the pace,” McCollum said. “Chauncey has been preaching running the lanes and advancing the ball and trying to get deep corner pick-and-rolls. And I think we all took advantage of that. It starts with getting stops and think tonight we got more stops and didn’t have to play with a set defense.”
Robert Covington said the Blazers benefitted from the turnovers but definitely placed an emphasis on pace.
“Because of how we turned them over tonight, we were able to come out and really push the ball in transition and really do a lot,” he said. “We got a lot of open looks. A lot of quick shots. A lot of turnovers led to a lot of great baskets and we moved the ball really well tonight.”
NEXT UP
The Blazers begin a three-game trip Wednesday at Sacramento. The trip continues Friday at Golden State (15-2) and ends Monday at Utah (11-5). The Blazers return home to host Detroit (4-12) on Tuesday.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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