The Portland Trail Blazers didn’t just prevent Nikola Jokic from making NBA history, they also handed him a stunning defeat.
The Blazers slithered away from the Moda Center with a 109-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets Friday night in an entertaining, back-and-forth NBA Cup matchup before 16,382.
Portland rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit in a game that went down to the wire, using a mix of stiffing late-game defense and clutch scoring to earn a hard-fought win.
The Blazers trailed by five with a minute left, but Deni Avdija had a clutch three-point play, Toumani Camara made multiple clutch defensive stands and Jerami Grant made four crucial free throws — including two with 3.0 seconds left — down the stretch.
The game-winning free throws came after the Blazers stymied the Nuggets’ offense in a key late-game possession, which ended with a jump ball between Jokic and Camara with 4.9 seconds left. Jokic won the tip, tapping the ball to Aaron Gordon, and he twirled around an heaved a 16-footer just before the shot clock expired. But Shaedon Sharpe swatted away the shot, forcing a shot-clock violation.
On the ensuing possession, Grant collected a side inbounds pass and sprinted right along the perimeter, elevating to heave a potential game-winning shot. Instead, he was hacked by Gordon with 1.4 seconds left. He made both free throws, giving the Blazers a 109-107 lead.
The Nuggets had one final chance at the buzzer, when Jokic collected a three-quarter court pass, twirled around and launched a shot at the free throw line. It hit the rim twice and bounced away.
And the Blazers walked away with a win.
In came in their first outing of the annual NBA Cup, the league’s third annual in-season tournament. The Blazers and Nuggets are playing in West Group C, along with Houston, San Antonio and Golden State, so the Blazers gained an early edge in the round-robin format.
TOP PERFORMERS
Avdija scored 23 points, Sharpe added 19 points and Jrue Holiday battled through a cold-shooting night to record 11 points and 13 assists for the Blazers.
Jokic finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets, falling just short of a triple-double. He had produced a triple-double in each of his first four games this season, tying Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook for most in the NBA history. But he just missed making history with his fifth consecutive triple-double to start the season.
WILLIAMS MAKES SEASON DEBUT
Robert Williams III made his eagerly-anticipated season debut against the Nuggets, playing 11 minutes, 15 seconds off the bench.
The backup center checked into the game with 7:34 left in the first quarter and wasted little time working into the fray. Less than two minutes into his first shift, Williams scored his first bucket of the season, completing a layup to trim an early Denver edge to 13-11. Williams created the scoring chance by curling around a screen on the block and wiggling into the paint, where he gathered a pass from Blake Wesley and just beat the shot clock.
Then, two possessions later, Williams tipped an offensive rebound to Wesley for an easy close-range baseline jumper. The shot bricked off the front iron, but Williams showed immediately the kind of impact he can make off the bench, bringing interior scoring, rebounding and veteran savvy. And, of course, the 2022 NBA All-Defensive Second Team selection brings plenty of interior defense, too.
His highlight of the night came in the fourth quarter, when the Blazers ran an alley-oop play to perfection. Williams approached the lane from the side, with Jrue Holiday in the lane, and the Blazers’ point guard flipped a lob pass at the rim. Williams caught the ball and hammered home a two-handed dunk, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
He finished with four points, four rebounds, one block and one steal, while making both of his field goal attempts.
Williams played under a minute-restriction, so he didn’t see extended playing time. But after playing just 26 games over two seasons because of knee and hamstring injuries, it was a step in the right direction. Williams didn’t resume full basketball activities until late in training camp and earlier this week he was sent to the G League for a brief practice stint with the Rip City Remix.
The Blazers plan to increase his playing time as he works into better basketball shape.
A PAIR OF 18s
The Blazers opened the game with their worst quarter of the season, managing a measly 18 points in the first period, then equaled the feat in the third.
With a mix of shaky shooting, turnovers and poor half-court execution, Portland didn’t do itself any favors in two of the game’s three quarters. The Blazers made just 7 of 26 field goals, including 1 of 12 three-pointers, and committed three turnovers during the frigid first quarter. And they were even worse in the third, making just 5 of 21 shots, including 2 of 13 threes, while coughing up three more turnovers.
All told, they shot 26%, including 12% from long range, in the first and third.
It rough quarters followed a forgettable final period Wednesday in the Blazers’ win over Utah, during which they finished with just 19 points.
NEXT UP
The Blazers host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Moda Center. It’s the second meeting between the teams in a week and the first since Portland defeated the Lakers 122-108 Monday in Los Angeles.
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