Nuggets ascend to cusp of first playoff berth since 2013
The Nuggets have relied on one of the NBA’s best offenses all season. But with their season on the line Monday night at the Pepsi Center against Portland, Denver’s defense came through for its biggest win to date.
Denver held Portland to 33 percent shooting from the field — including forcing a missed floater by MVP candidate Damian Lillard with 24.1 seconds to play — to finish off another grind-it-out, 88-82 victory in Monday night’s regular-season home finale to put the Nuggets on the cusp of their first playoff berth since 2013.
The Nuggets (46-35), who extended their longest winning streak of the season to six games, can clinch a playoff berth with a win Wednesday at Minnesota.
“We played like our lives were on the line, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “It wasn’t pretty, but I thought our defense was phenomenal.”
Denver, which survived a night in which it shot 37.3 percent from the floor, trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter before seizing the lead in the fourth and holding on.
The Nuggets began the final period on a 9-2 run, with Devin Harris giving Denver a 73-71 advantage on a 3-pointer at the 8:11 mark and Nikola Jokic extending that lead to four points with two free throws less than a minute later.
After former Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic tied the score at 75 with a finish inside, Jokic answered with a 3-pointer. Layups by Will Barton and Jamal Murray put Denver back up by two possessions at 82-77 with 1:50 to play. Then after a layup by Lillard and a free throw by Nurkic cut Denver’s lead 8280 with 45 seconds left, Murray, Gary Harris and Barton combined to sink to all but put the game out of reach.
“That was another playoff game. That was just tough, physical for 48 minutes,” Malone said. “Our guys believe. We persevered and I couldn’t be prouder of our team right now.”
Jokic recorded his 10th triple-double of the season with 15 points (5-of-14 shooting), 20 rebounds and 11 assists. Barton led Denver with 22 points and seven rebounds. Gary Harris scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting in his return after missing the previous 11 games with an injured right knee.
Nurkic bullied Denver inside early, compiling a double-double in the first half and finishing with 20 points and 19 rebounds. Lillard added 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting, while CJ McCollum had 16 points and seven rebounds.
Denver made five of its first seven shots but then sputtered offensively for the rest of the first half, shooting 34.1 percent from the floor and 3-of-12 from 3-point distance. Portland outscored the Nuggets 26-14 in the second quarter to take a 49-42 lead into the locker room.