Both teams struggled to make shots in Game 2 but the Denver Nuggets struggled a bit more and the Portland Trail Blazers were able to even the series.
To be fair, Game 2 was an offensive struggle for both teams but the Nuggets had it a little bit worse and their 6-of-28 performance from behind the arc was likely the difference in this game. Missing that many shots stings no matter what, but wasting what was perhaps the worst playoff game of Damian Lillard’s playoff career certainly adds insult to injury.
Lillard was nowhere near as effective as in Game 1, unable to finish, hit the jumper or get himself to the free throw line. He finished the game with 14 points and 3 turnovers, shooting 5-of-17 from the field and 1-of-7 on 3-pointers.
The Nuggets managed just 35 points in the first half and trailed by as much as 17 in the game. They were able to close the gap with 23 offensive rebounds, repeatedly battling for second and third shots in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t enough and they’ll need to win a game in Portland to get themselves back on track.
Takeaways
It’s a make-or-miss league, and tonight the Nuggets missed a lot. Denver missed 64 shots in Game 3, and another 10 from the free throw line. They missed 23 3-pointers, many of which were open or wide-open. And it’s not as if those shots were forced into the hands of shaky shooters by Portland’s defense. Monte Morris and Malik Beasley both hit better than 40 percent of their 3s in the regular season, they were 2-of-9 tonight. Jamal Murray hit 36.7 percent of his 3s in the regular season and made just 2-of-8 tonight. Sometimes the shots go down, sometimes they don’t. In a game they lost by seven points, the Nuggets’ misses tonight weren’t the product of some fundamental offensive failing. They just missed.
Enes Kanter has been a positive. Coming into these playoffs, without Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers probably would have been happy with Kanter’s offensive contributions perfectly canceling out his defensive problems, for a net-zero performance. But, yet again, he was a positive for Portland. After tonight, they’ve outscored opponents by 28 points in the 212 minutes Kanter has been on the floor. He’s racked up 22 offensive rebounds, across seven games, shooting over 60 percent from the floor. And, most importantly, he hasn’t been a glaring defensive weakness that can be exploited every time down the floor. Until Denver figures out how to leverage his awkward passivity in the pick-and-roll, the Blazers are happy with every minute he’s in the game.
The Blazers are in control. This was a weird, flukey game where all sorts of patterns were disrupted. But Portland won a game where they gave up 23 offensive rebounds and forced just 8 turnovers. They won a game with CJ McCollum and Lillard combining for just 34 points on 13-of-37 from the field and 4-of-14 from the field. They won a game where Mo Harkless was only available for 12 minutes before spraining his ankle. They won a game where they had just three fastbreak points. The Blazers won the weird one and now they get two games home to try and push the Nuggets to the brink.