Nuggets win playoff opener
Nikola Jokic scored 37 points and Denver held off Damian Lillard and Portland 121-113. Lillard scored 39 points.
Nikola Jokic scored 37 points and the Denver Nuggets withstood Damian Lillard’s 39-point effort and Enes Kanter’s strong return to Portland’s lineup in a 121113 win over the well-rested Trail Blazers in the opener of their second-round playoff series Monday night in Denver.
Lillard, who struck for 50 points, including a 37-footer at the buzzer to oust Oklahoma City in five games, missed eight of 12 threepoint attempts and Gary Harris blocked his threepoint attempt from behind in the closing minute to keep the Trail Blazers from closing in.
Jamal Murray had 23 points for Denver, which was making its first appearance in the second round in a decade, and Paul Millsap scored 19.
“Saturday night, an emotional high, winning a Game 7, that was part of my biggest concern about tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Obviously, you’re worried about guarding them, but how would we react from that emotional hangover? I thought our guys did a pretty good job.”
Back-to-back layups by Lillard pulled Portland to within five points with nine minutes left, but Jokic made two free throws after CJ McCollum’s flagrant foul sandwiched by two dunks by Mason Plumlee as Denver pushed its lead to 107-96.
Portland never got much closer.
Denver was coming off a 90-86 Game 7 win over San Antonio 48 hours earlier. The Trail Blazers had nearly a week off after dispatching Oklahoma City.
The Trail Blazers got a boost from Kanter, who separated his left shoulder in Game 5 against the Thunder. He had 14 points by halftime, when Portland trailed 58-55. He finished with 26 points.
Philadelphia 94, at Toronto 89: Jimmy Butler’s big game helped Philadelphia end a lengthy losing streak in Toronto and helped the 76ers tie the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Butler had 30 points and 11 rebounds, James Ennis scored 13 points and the 76ers held on to tie the series at one game apiece.
It was Philadelphia’s first victory in Toronto since Nov. 10, 2012, ending a losing streak there at 14 games.
“Everybody wants to paint the picture that we haven’t won here in however many years,” Butler said. “I’m just glad that we came out on top. We don’t care how many games we’ve lost, nothing like that.”
Butler scored 12 points in the final quarter to help the 76ers withstand a late Toronto rally.
Down 19 points in the first half, Toronto cut the deficit to one point late in the third quarter, only to go cold to start the fourth, missing six of its first seven shots.
The Raptors kept coming, however. Kyle Lowry made three-pointers on both sides of two free throws by Butler, cutting the deficit to 90-87 with 1 minute 36 seconds to go.
Toronto got the ball back, and Pascal Siakam scored on a layup to make it a onepoint game, but Joel Embiid answered with a driving shot at the other end, restoring the three-point advantage with 24 seconds left.
After Lowry nearly turned the ball over, Danny Green missed a potential tying three-point shot and Philadelphia’s Tobias Harris came up with the rebound, his 11th.
Harris was fouled and sealed the victory by making both free throws with 3.9 seconds left.
Embiid scored 12 points in 32 minutes despite not participating in the morning shoot-around because of flu symptoms.
Kawhi Leonard scored 35 points, Siakam had 21 and Lowry finished with 20.