LATE NUGGETS RALLY FALLS SHORT; SERIES TIED 1-1
Denver can’t make up for woeful shooting in fourth quarter
The Nuggets fought through a bloody nose and a woeful shooting night, but the Trail Blazers didn’t balk.
Portland stole Game 2 on Wednesday night 97-90 as emotions flared on both sides at the Pepsi Center and the secondround playoff series was evened up at one game apiece.
The Nuggets tried valiantly to mount a fourth-quarter comeback, getting as close a 95-90 with less than 30 seconds left, but the Blazers closed it out with clutch free throws.
Game 3 is Friday night at Portland.
“Our starting backcourt got some good looks. The shots didn’t go down,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “I do love the fact that our guys competed at such a high level, at least gave ourselves a chance and played the way we need to play.”
An already physical game turned testy with less than a minute left when Blazers center Enes Kanter knocked Nuggets wing Torrey Craig to the ground on his way back up the court. Both teams sped out to midcourt as Jamal Murray and Gary Harris got involved in a quick shoving match with Kanter and Rodney Hood. At that point, the game was largely over.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had another strong game even if he didn’t make the same impact he did in Game 1. Jokic finished with 16 points, seven assists and 14 rebounds, but the Nuggets managed just 35 percent shooting from the field overall, including 6-of-29 from the 3-point line. CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 20 points, but the Nuggets mostly contained allstar Damian Lillard, holding him to just 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. Their offense was offset by six Blazers in double figures.
The Nuggets trailed by 15 points after back-to-back Blazers 3-pointers, and the game appeared to be sealed early in the fourth quarter. But Denver kept clawing back, its defense clamping down on one end and its offense plugging away behind its stars. Murray rattled home
a 3-pointer and Jokic went to work inside to cut the deficit to seven points with just under four minutes remaining. Murray would finish with just 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting.
The Nuggets got a huge scare at the 11:36 mark of the second quarter when Craig, their defensive ace, got hit in the face on an awkward fall. Craig, who had drawn the defensive assignment on Lillard in Game 1, lay on the ground for several tense moments as blood covered his jersey and hands. He was escorted off the court by several arena staffers with a nasal contusion and returned to the bench — sporting a mask — a few minutes into the third quarter.
Craig’s return to the bench drew a huge roar and seemed to fuel the Nuggets on the court as they whittled down the deficit to eight points. Part of the run included an assist from Jokic to Paul Millsap that went right through the legs of Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
Craig’s return to the game drew an even bigger roar, but the Blazers’ multipronged attack kept coming even while Murray knocked down a couple of open looks. Portland took a 78-64 lead into the fourth quarter while the Nuggets continued to struggle from the field.
Denver momentarily turned to Malik Beasley in the wake of Craig’s injury, which wasn’t a bad option considering how he played late in Game 1.
“I thought Malik Beasley, who played the lion’s share of the fourth quarter, he showed me he can guard Damian Lillard,” Malone said, referring to Game 1. “Now, obviously he had 39 points, so tongue in cheek a little bit, but Torrey, Gary and Malik are three guys that we can throw at him to wear him down.”
Any extended injury to Craig would’ve severely hampered their defensive depth.
Malone, somewhat sarcastically, was surprised Kanter played unimpeded in Game 1 despite a suffering a separated left shoulder in their first-round win.
“Give him credit. He was very effective,” Malone said. “Had a very good game, which surprised me because when you read the articles, I didn’t think he was going to be able to play. So, what a shocker that he went out there and played at such a high level. We have to meet him (on the roll) earlier.”
Once again, Kanter was effective down low.
The Nuggets’ offense, normally a free-flowing system, went cold in the second quarter. Turnovers and missed open looks undermined their offensive effort, which generated just 12 total points in the second quarter and led to a 50-35 halftime deficit.
With the offense scuffling, Murray in particular tried forcing several looks and managed just 2-of-11 in the first half. And Jokic, their Game 1 hero, took just five shots while the rest of the team connected on only 4-of20 from 3-point range.