PORTLAND, Ore. — A season as riveting as the one the Nuggets are riding could just reach its pinnacle with another huge challenge: Game 7, the Nuggets’ second in their rollicking postseason run.

With their season on the line, Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers didn’t balk. Unwilling to go home early, the Blazers pulled away to win. Lillard cooked for 32 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals that turned testy for the next time this sequence.

Whether this carries over to Sunday’s Game 7 in Denver remains to be seen.

Versatile defender Torrey Craig and Will Barton got to a match with Portland’s Seth Curry and Zach Collins that could lead to punishment. After a review, all four were assessed technical fouls with the Blazers up 104-90 and remaining.

The Blazers salted away the win behind Lillard, C.J. McCollum (30 points) and a huge performance from wing Rodney Hood. Game 3’s hero torched the Nuggets for 25 points and three 3-pointers.

Nikola Jokic continued his torrid postseason run, exposing a Blazers frontcourt in the process. He finished with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, nearly grabbing his of the playoffs. Jamal Murray, Denver’s other scorer, managed 24 points. He snagged five assists and 10 rebounds.

A rough night from the Nuggets&rsquo unit could hardly offset a blazing night from Portland’s 3-point shooters. Portland skewered the nets by making. Lillard had a six of them.

Lillard Time, typically reserved for the fourth quarter, came Thursday. He connected on a few of his trademark and ignited the Moda Center crowd with 17 points. Lillard looked lively and energized as he bounced carving up the Nuggets’ perimeter defenders.

In response, the Nuggets turned for their franchise cornerstone, who buried a 3-pointer that was vital to attempt to stave momentum. Jokic’s triple momentarily gave Denver the lead at 76-75, but a fourth foul call against him just re-lit the audience &rsquo. The Nuggets entered the fourth quarter down 87-80 and in search of a charge that was resilient.

After dropping a potential closeout Game 6 in San Antonio in the first round, Nuggets coach Michael Malone wanted his group light and breezy heading into Thursday night. With a young team, Malone knows his team takes its cues from him.

“(I’m) constantly challenging myself and making certain I’m handling myself how I want my players to handle themselves when they’re on the ground,” Malone said prior to the game. “And if things are going well, being humble and having humility. When things aren’t ensuring I’m remaining positive … I have to make sure when they look they’re saying ‘OK, coach remains with us. ’ He’s still remaining loose, rsquo & he;s still staying positive. Because when I’m not, that gets the rest of those guys a bit uptight. ”

Therefore, Malone said he and some of his assistants trekked across the bridge and found among Portland’s breweries on Wednesday.

“Enjoyed some of Portland’s beer, and sitting out and only talking about our team, talking about what’s going on back home and sometimes you have to force yourself to get away from it,” Malone said.

Those minutes, the quieter ones between the stress of the postseason, is where Malone has found the most pleasure. He explained some of his conversations happen to be in sessions along with his players.

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“We all know where we want to go, and that ends up with hanging a world championship banner in the Pepsi Center, but the journey is where the fun is,” Malone said. “And when you take minutes to step back, like, ‘Man, the expansion that Jamal Murray has showed in 12 playoff games is remarkable. ’ But for Nikola Jokic to do what he’s doing in his playoff debut, I’ve been about good players. I’ve never seen anything like it round. ”

Jokic looked on his way after a quarter that was sizzling to another triple-double. He paced the Nuggets with his precision passing and catchy while Denver bolted out to an early lead.

But that cushion was erased when Jokic went to the bench. The Blazers seized on Denver’s unit and flipped a deficit into a 58-54 halftime lead. Three Blazers — Lillard, McCollum and Hood logged double-figures while wresting the momentum back.

As they’ve all show, the Nuggets relied heavily on their two stars. Jokic and Murray ran the pick-and-roll to the ground, and it yielded numerous running floaters that were open. The two combined for 29 points and eight assists over the two quarters. Harris buried two rhythm and shed his shooting woes.

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