The Denver Nuggets have not lost to a team with a winning percentage below .460 throughout the season. So it seemed unlikely that the Portland Trail Blazers (.313 percentage points) would come to the Ball Arena and win.The bigger question may have been whether the Blazers will follow up Wednesday’s win against Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks by at least playing well in Denver.The Blazers answered that question by overcoming a terrible start to stay in the game until the final minutes before losing 120-108 to the defending NBA champions..
Portland, which trailed by as many as 15 in the first quarter, briefly took the lead in the second quarter and trailed 103-97 midway through the fourth quarter. Then the Nuggets were able to pull away just enough to end the threat in the final minutes.”We got off to a rough start,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups told reporters. “They jumped on us. But man, we showed determination. We’re back in the game. … I was satisfied with our effort. I think we played very well. And we made them play to beat us.Rookie Scoot Henderson came off the bench and led the way with 20 points in the first half and finished with 30 points, three shy of his career high of 33. Anfernee Simons made a 3-pointer in the first half, scored 26 in the second half and finished with 29.But the most dominant player on the court – no surprise – was Denver center Nikola Jokic.
He had 27 points, 22 rebounds and 12 assists. He grabbed seven of the team’s 16 offensive rebounds, leading to 20 second-chance points.Seven Nuggets scored at least 13 points, thanks in large part to the play of Jokic and Jamal Murray. Murray scored 13 points on 5-of-21 shooting, but also had 10 assists and nine rebounds.Aaron Gordon scored 18 points on 7/9 shooting.”We didn’t back down,” Henderson told reporters. “We didn’t give them respect easily. We came with a winning mentality. Sometimes you don’t always win. But I think we won today in terms of effort.The Blazers (15-34) were successful in most areas but were no match for Jokic’s ability to dominate the game. Deandre Ayton had just eight points and three rebounds. Still,
it was a positive read for the Blazers moving forward. And who knows, they’ll get another crack at the Nuggets (34-16) on Sunday.The Blazers learned before the game that forward Jerami Grant will not play due to back pain. Grant left the team’s Jan. 26 loss at San Antonio in the first half with back pain and did not return. But he played in the team’s next four games before sitting out in Denver.Blazers rookie Scoot Henderson turns 20 on Saturday. Henderson, born Feb 3, 2004, had one of his most effective games of the season in Denver. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and knocked down three of seven three-pointers. In 37 minutes, Henderson made only two rounds.Billups has encouraged Henderson to attack the basket all season, and he did so in abundance on Friday. As a result, he won the opportunity to win 11”.
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