Nuggets aim to continue torrid play against slumping Trail Blazers
The soaring Denver Nuggets will continue their quest for the lead in the Western Conference during their visit to Portland Trail Blazers Saturday evening.
The Nuggets (49-21) have won 13 of their last 15 games and stand within a half-game of the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder.
The defending champions appear to be on top for the final weeks of the season while the Trail Blazers (19-51) have the second-worst record in the West. Portland has lost five straight games and nine of its last 11.
The Nuggets will look to complete a four-game season against the Trail Blazers and earn their seventh straight series victory.
Denver’s top two players are both ill and considered questionable for Saturday’s game.
Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic suffers from back and hip pain. Outstanding shooting guard Jamal Murray sprained his left ankle with just under a minute remaining in Thursday’s 113-100 home victory over the New York Knicks.
Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists against New York for his 22nd triple-double of the season. Murray had 23 points.
With so much at stake, Denver coach Michael Malone is hoping not to be without either player.
“We play at a high level,” Malone said. “The challenge is, with 12 (games) left, can we continue to maintain this pace and stay healthy while doing it? Our players deserve a lot of credit for their mindset and their approach every night .”
Michael Porter Jr. had a huge game against the Knicks, scoring 31 points on 13-of-16 shooting from the field. Porter made three three-pointers to set a franchise single-season record with 193, passing Dale Ellis (192 in 1996-97). He has three of the Nuggets’ top seven marks in this category.
“Even though he’s not hot, he looks like he’s going to make every shot,” Denver guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said. “For him to continue to shoot with that confidence is great for him.”
Portland will try to slow down Porter one night after having no answers on how to calm down the Clippers’ Paul George or Kawhi Leonard.
George scored 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Leonard added 22 points while making 9-of-15 attempts as Los Angeles recorded a 125-117 victory over the host Trail Blazers on Friday. Neither player stepped on the floor in the fourth quarter on a night in which Los Angeles shot 57.1 percent from the field.
Although the Trail Blazers were down by as many as 22 points in the first half, 26 for the game and 20 with less than five minutes remaining before closing the gap, coach Chauncey Billups said he was pleased with the how his team played.
“Their shooting was unbelievable,” Billups said of the Clippers. “I don’t think we played bad at all. We played against a team that has a lot more years of experience. We were starting with four rookies and (Anfernee Simons).”
Simons left with 7:05 left in the third quarter due to a left knee injury and did not return. Billups did not have a postgame update on Simons’ chances of playing Saturday.
Simons had just three points on 1-of-6 shooting before going out.
Big man Deandre Ayton (elbow) sat out for the Trail Blazers and Jerami Grant (hamstring) was out for the eighth time in the last nine games.
Rookies Scoot Henderson (24 points, 10 assists) and Kris Murray (a career-high 21 points) had strong performances against Los Angeles.
“I was really proud of Kris with two consecutive career highs, and I thought it was a good bounce-back game for Scoot and for him to be aggressive and attacking all the time,” Billups said. “These guys really stood out.”
–Field level media
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