The guard CJ McCollum contributed 20 points, six rebounds and six and led the attack of the Denver Nuggets who beat the Denver Nuggets 90-97 at home, in the second game of the Western Conference semifinal eliminator that they tie the series at 1-1 and remain with the field advantage.
The third game of the best-of-seven series will be played next Friday at the Moda Center in Portland.
Along with McCollum, who scored three triples and always the decisive baskets, the Swiss Turkish center Enes Kanter and reserve guard Rodney Hood scored 15 points each.
While point guard Damian Lillard, the leader of the Trail Blazers’ attack, did not have his best scoring inspiration and finished with just 14 points after missing 12 of 17 shots from the field, including six of seven from outside the perimeter.
Power forward Al-Farouq Aminu became the best of the Trail Blazers in the inside game with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, which helped his team finish the game with a 42 percent accuracy. on shooting from the field, compared to 35 for the Nuggets, who missed 23 of 29 3-point attempts.
But if the Trail Blazers did not have their best scoring inspiration, the worst was the one shown by the Nuggets, who gave a whole display of failures, without having a single player who was saved from offensive mediocrity.
That allowed the Trail Blazers, without Lillard, or anything special to offer on the field, reached the break with an advantage of 15 points (35-50), in the third period they increased it to 17 and reached the fourth with 14.
Then came the reaction of the Nuggets, but too late and inconsistent for a 90-95 run that did not change the history of the game and the dominance of the Trail Blazers who ended the period with a 19-9 streak and 14 defensive rebounds.
Hood, with 17 seconds remaining, sentenced the Trail Blazers to victory by scoring two personnel shots that left the Nuggets unable to react.
Serbian center Nikola Jokic contributed a double-double of 16 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists and a recovery of the ball, but like the rest of the Nuggets players, he did not have consistency in the attack when he missed 10 of 17 shots from country.
Jokic was a long way from the 37 points he scored in the first game of the tie that the Nuggets won 121-113.
“We played a bad game, we were not focused, we did not move the ball well, we made poor decisions in the field goal and in the end we facilitated their victory,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “At this point in the competition you can’t miss baskets as easy as the ones we had tonight.”
The Nuggets set the worst record in their history in a quarter of a playoff game, with 12 points, after missing 18 of 23 shots from the field, including 10 3-point attempts.
The unfortunate sporting spectacle that the Nuggets gave in the first half was reflected in the boos they received from their own fans when they saw how they missed the last eight shots they made to previous baskets when they went to rest.
“There is no explanation whatsoever for what happened on the field and I understand the fans,” Malone said. “Now we must turn the page and think about the third game with the mentality of learning from mistakes.”
But, for now, the Nuggets lose their field advantage again, as they did in the first round tie against the San Antonio Spurs, whom they later beat in the decisive seventh game.
Canadian point guard Jamal Murray, who has not yet recovered from his muscular ailment suffered during the series against the Spurs, contributed 15 points and seven assists that also did not prevent the Denver team from losing.
Power forward Paul Millsap delivered on the inside game by scoring a double-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds, two ball recoveries, two losses, and made two blocks.
While the Spanish power forward Juancho Hernangómez continued without seeing action so far in the semifinals by decision of coach Malone.
The defeat left the Nuggets 6-6 in the games both teams have had during the playoffs. EFE