Denver’s accuracy freezes up in Pacific Northwest
PORTLAND, ORE.» Coach Michael Malone cut the Nuggets’ shootaround at the Moda Center short Monday morning.
The reason? The temperature in the arena was uncharacteristically cold, and the coach quipped that his players needed to return to their hotel to thaw out.
Turns out those conditions foreshadowed Denver’s shooting performance in Portland that evening, as the Nuggets finished with their lowest scoring output of the season in a lopsided 99-82 loss against their Northwest Division foe.
Following a 5-1 homestand that Malone described as “unbelievable,” the Nuggets’ early-season road woes continued. Denver (8-6) dropped to 2-4 away from the Pepsi Center and has not won at Portland since 2013.
Portland outscored the Nuggets 30-17 in a decisive third quarter, including a 13-2 run to close the frame and seize a double-digit lead for good. Portland backcourt stars Damian Lillard (15 points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals) and CJ McCollum (17 points, 3-of-5 from 3-point range) scored 10 points apiece during that period, including four 3pointers after Portland went just 1-of-8 from long range as a team in the first half.
Denver, meanwhile, went 5-of22 from the floor in the third quarter and 35.7 percent overall.
Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic added 17 points and five rebounds against his former team, winning the one-on-one battle against Nuggets standout Nikola
Jokic (six points on 2-of-9 shooting, seven rebounds, three assists, three turnovers). Evan Turner added 14 points and five assists off the bench, including a nifty turnaround jumper down the stretch of that decisive third quarter.
Both teams staged big runs in a sloppy first half that included 20 combined turnovers.
After the Nuggets built a seven-point lead in the first quarter behind the backcourt scoring of Jamal Murray (18 points on 7-of-19 shooting) and Will Barton (12 points, five rebounds, three assists), Portland finished on s 12-5 run. Then after Shabazz Napier sank three free throws to put the Trail Blazers up 46-32, the Nuggets answered with a 17-8 spurt to end the half.
The Nuggets return to the Pepsi Center’s comfortable conditions Friday for a contest against the New Orleans Pelicans. But they play 10 of their next 14 games on the road, where they’ll hope chilly pregame shootaround conditions don’t foreshadow their upcoming shooting performance.