The Nuggets fought through a nose and a woeful but the Trail Blazers didn’t balk.
Portland stole Game 2 on Wednesday night 97-90 as feelings flared on both sides in the Pepsi Center and the playoff series was evened up at a game apiece.
The Nuggets tried to mount a 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 decent looks didn’t go down,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. “I do love the fact that our guys competed at a high level, at least played how we will need to play and gave ourselves a chance. ”
An already physical match turned with less than a minute left when Blazers center Enes Kanter knocked Nuggets wing Torrey Craig into the floor on his way back up the court. Both teams sped out to midcourt as Jamal Murray and Gary Harris got involved in a fast match with Kanter and Rodney Hood. At that point, the match was over.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic had another game if he didn’t make the same impact he did in Game 1. Jokic finished with 14 rebounds, seven assists and 16 points, 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 but the Nuggets mostly contained Damian Lillard, holding him. Their offense was offset by six Blazers in double figures.
The Nuggets trailed by 15 points after Blazers 3-pointers, and the game seemed to be sealed early in the fourth quarter. But Denver kept clawing back, its defense clamping down on one side and its offense plugging away behind its own stars. Murray rattled home a 3-pointer and Jokic went to work inside to cut the deficit remaining. Murray would finish with just 15 points on 6-for-18 shooting.
The Nuggets got a huge scare when Craig, their 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 floor for many minutes as blood covered his jersey and palms. He went back to the bench — wearing a mask and was escorted off the court by stadium staffers with a contusion — a few minutes.
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. 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 match drew on an even bigger roar, but the Blazers’ multipronged attack kept coming while Murray knocked a few open looks down. 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 accident, which wasn’t a option considering how he played in Game 1.
“I believed Malik Beasley, who played the lion&rsquoshare of the fourth quarter, he showed me he could guard Damian Lillard,” Malone said, referring to Game 1. “Now, of course he had 39 points, so tongue in cheek a little bit, but Torrey, Gary and Malik are three guys that we can throw to put him down. ”
Any injury to Craig would’t severely hampered their depth.
Malone, somewhat sarcastically, was surprised Kanter played unimpeded in Game 1 a separated left shoulder into their first-round win.
“Give him credit. He was very effective,” Malone said. “Had a match, which surprised me because when you read the content, I didn’t believe he went to have the ability to play. What a shocker he played at a level that was high and went out there. We must meet him (on the roll) earlier. ”
Once again, Kanter was effective down low.
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The Nuggets’ offense a system, went cold in the second quarter. Turnovers and missed open appearances undermined their effort, which generated just 12 total points in the second quarter and contributed to a 50-35 halftime deficit.
With the offense scuffling, Murray managed just and in particular tried forcing appearances. And Jokic, their Game 1 hero, took just five shots while the rest of the team connected on from 3-point range.
The Blazers got another start from Kanter and battered their way to 28 points in the paint with the Nuggets offering little resistance inside.
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