Blazers Routed By Nuggets In Heated Game 2

Damian Lillard's epic first half wasn't nearly enough for Portland in its blowout Game 2 loss to Denver.

Notes, observations, analysis, clips and much more from the Trail Blazers' 128-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs.

• The Nuggets made key adjustments that took Portland out of its Game 1 rhythm offensively, and came prepared with a far more dynamic game plan around Nikola Jokic on the other side of the ball. Michael Malone flat out-coached Terry Stotts. But even if Denver decided the strategic status quo from Saturday night was sufficient, it still would have been awful tough for the Blazers to get another win given their many mental errors and occasionally fleeting intensity. The short-handed Nuggets' backs were against the wall, and they played like it from the opening tip with energy, activity and swagger Portland never matched. The Blazers' transition defense was porous at times. They were out-hustled for loose balls and out-fought in the paint. They made obvious mistakes on offense and defense, digging themselves a deep hole on the scoreboard and wasting every opportunity to climb out of it. If not for Damian Lillard's incandescent first-half shooting binge, the final score of this game would have been even uglier – and watching Portland fail to meet the moment time and again is enough to know it even without the box score. This inexcusable foul from Jusuf Nurkic, for instance, not only halted a mini Blazers surge, but left him one whistle away from dismissal. Nurkic heard it moments later, when he was called for a charge on the next possession.

• About those statistics: Denver's 132.0 offensive rating and 65.9 percent shooting pretty much say it all. But in case you're that woe-is-me Blazers fan who's a glutton for punishment following a playoff loss, the Nuggets' 54-32 advantage in paint points, 19-4 edge in second-chance points and 16-4 lead in fast-break points are definitely worth mentioning. Their 21-12 win in the turnover battle and 29 assists – nearly double that of Portland – are, too. Just in case that wasn't enough, Jokic's 38 points on 15-of-20 shooting should provide plenty more post-game frustration.
• It was clear in Game 1 that Jokic's biggest advantage one-on-one against the Blazers' bigs was on the perimeter, where they just can't match his newfound speed and improved dexterity in short areas. He brought the ball up often in Game 2, sometimes getting into quick-hitting ball screens on one side of the floor that forced switches from Portland. Malone also took advantage of Michael Porter Jr.'s gravity by using him as a screening partner for Jokic both on and off the ball, sparking extra oomph for the MVP frontrunner as he caught and attacked on the move. Jokic's mere presence on the floor guarantees his positive offensive impact, but Denver learned lessons from Game 1 that put him in much better position to succeed – both as an individual scorer and table-setter for his teammates. Even absent those advantage situations, there would simply have been no stopping Jokic on Monday. He was that inevitable in a game his team had to have.

• The Blazers didn't need this game, but Lillard clearly wanted it. After Portland's ugly start yielded just a six-point deficit after the first quarter, the Nuggets were suddenly up 13 when Stotts put him back in just two minutes of game time later. The tide of play had already turned, though, and Denver jumped out to an 18-point lead on Paul Millsap free throws midway through the second quarter. That's when Lillard took matters into his own hands, ringing off 22 points before halftime with perhaps the most jaw-dropping shooting stretch of his career. He'd connected on 6-of-7 from beyond the arc by the time it was over, pulling the Blazers within four on his sixth consecutive three with just under two minutes remaining on the game clock. But Portland immediately squandered Lillard's heroic effort, surrendering an 8-0 run to enter intermission trailing 73-61. Shame. Lillard wasn't nearly as productive in the second half, slowed in part by Malone toggling the Nuggets' defensive matchups and siccing Aaron Gordon on him. The Blazers, of course, still have a great shot to win this series, and Lillard proved he's the biggest reason why on a night his team was outclassed.

• Lillard's eight threes in the first half, by the way, tied an NBA playoff record set by Vince Carter all the way back in 2001.

32 points & 8 threes in the first half for @dame_lillard pic.twitter.com/nbKtfmLkAL

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 25, 2021

• This game was chippy from start to finish, irrespective of its 52(!) total foul calls. Assistant coach Nate Tibbetts getting involved in back-and-forth trash talk between the first and second quarters was only a sign of more dramatics to come. Carmelo Anthony shoved Jokic to the ground after the two got tangled while fighting for position, drawing a flagrant foul. C.J. McCollum was assessed his own flagrant for a double forearm shiver to Facundo Campazzo as they fought for space before a baseline-out-of-bounds play. Lillard and Austin Rivers exchanged some testy words on the court. A technical foul was called on Jokic from the sidelines for a notably heated, contentious exchange with someone on the Blazers bench. These teams know each other very well, and the innate physicality it takes to even try and stop Jokic makes him a magnet for confrontation. Campazzo is a pest of the highest order. Lillard and Nurkic certainly won't back down. Expect a lot of more of the same as this series continues. 
• Portland was terrible defensively on Monday. No one player is immune from criticism, and neither is the coaching staff. Enes Kanter continues to an imminently damaging presence on defense, though. Jokic attacked him mercilessly for the second straight game, getting whatever he wanted wherever and whenever he wanted it. Kanter, unsurprisingly, was nearly as big a problem when switched onto smaller players. He was even overpowered on the glass at times. There are only so many answers available to Portland given its dearth of quality defenders. It's not like there's another player on the roster other than Jusuf Nurkic who can even dream of stymying Jokic in the post. Stotts needs to be more judicious with Kanter's minutes going forward, though, perhaps even cutting them altogether when Jokic is on the bench.

Next up: Game 3 at Moda Center on Thursday, 7:30 p.m. (PST)