Tag:

Michael Porter Jr.

Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers run out of gas in Game 6. Nuggets win series 4-2.

by Miles DeCaro
written by Miles DeCaro

Coming off an emotional double overtime loss in Denver, the Blazers need to win tonight to keep their season alive.

10,000 fans cheered them on tonight for the most of this bizarre pandemic season in what could be the last Blazers game of the year.

Pre-game, Damian Lillard was given the 2020-2021 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award and which recognizes “the player deemed the best teammate based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.” After his 55 point performance in Game 5 including scoring 17 of the teams 19 points in both overtime periods, it seemed all the more fitting.

Congratulations, Dame. This award is very well deserved.

First Quarter:

Michael Porter made news before the game by saying that he was going to get better shots and be more aggressive.



He wasn’t lying. On the first play of the game, he hit a 3. He would go on to hit his first 6 of the game. Not just first 6 shots, his first 6 three pointers en route to 22(!) first quarter points.

Not to be outdone, Damian Lillard didn’t miss his first shot until the 3:45 mark of the first and started 4-4. He finished the quarter with 12 points.

Despite Porter’s first quarter explosion, the Blazers led for the majority of the quarter and actually shot better as a team from the 3 point line in the quarter at 6-9 (.667) to the Nuggets 6-12 (.500).

Jokic picked up two quick fouls in the first 7 minutes including a sneaky attempt to wrap his arms under Nurkic to draw a foul on Nurk and get him out of the game. He got those types of calls in Denver, but not tonight on the road.

CJ continued to struggle from 3 but was very aggressive getting to the basket and finished the quarter 2-5 FG after hitting his first 2 shots.

Jokic gets an offensive foul at 9:24 trying to sneak a foul on Nurk build grabbing his arms and pulling through. He got the opposite call in Denver. He picks up his second foul at the 5:22 mark and Michael Malone immediately took him out.

Michael Porter continued to score at will to keep them afloat. The Blazers end the quarter with only a 4 point lead despite shooting over 65% from 3 in the quarter.

Heavy minutes for the starters of both teams in the first quarter. You wouldn’t expect anything less in an elimination game.

33-29 Blazers.

Jokic had 0 points, 3 assists and 2 rebounds. That’s seems like a win for Denver to only be down by 4.

Second Quarter:

The 2nd unit came in and held things down for the Blazers including a great back door play for a CJ two handed dunk. Good pass from Melo.



Jokic and Nurk continued to have their minutes matched by each coach and came back in together at the 10:30 mark. 2 fouls on Jokic. None on Nurk. That’s unusual this series as Nurk has seemed to constantly be in foul trouble.

Immediate whistle, but on Monte Morris.

Clear foul on Jokic that isnā€™t called. Tried to steal it from Nurk and got a lot of arm.


Melo with back to back buckets.Ā Ā 

Jokicā€™s first points at the 9 minute mark of the 2nd quarter. Weird.

Facundo Campazzo somehow got a definitive block on CJ. That may have been his first block in the NBA.



(Editor’s note: According to Basketball Reference, Facundo Campazzo somehow was credited with 14 blocks this season. He also had a famous block on Kobe Bryant in the Olympics)Ā 

CJ continues to struggle from the 3 point line and finishes the have 2-8 from 3, but with 11 points after continuing to stay aggressive and attack the basket.

The good news is the rest of the team is on fire from 3.

Anfernee Simons had 3 including back to back bombs toward the end of the half.

The last minute of the half was very representative with no missed shots, a Porter dunk, Lillard layin, Jokic 3 pointer and tough step back 3 for Dame to finish the half.

This is fun.

68-61 Blazers.



MPJ led the Nuggets with 26 on 10-14 FG, 6-9 from 3pt. Wow.

Dame quietly has 19 on 7-11 fg and 3-5 from 3pt with 7 assists. Maybe we just expect that from him at this point.

8 man rotation for Blazers. Heavy minutes for all 5 starters each over 18 minutes played in the half.

Nuggets going 10 deep, but all 5 starters played more than 17 minutes.

Third quarter:

The Blazers start the 2nd half quickly on a 5 point run to stretch the lead to 12.

Jokic seemed to know that he needed to pick things up for his team and started with back to back easy buckets in the lane. You donā€™t want him to get going.

Denver wonā€™t go away though. Jokic wonā€™t let them with 11 points in the first 6 minutes including a beautiful Tim Duncan style back shot to answer.

Campazzo and Powell both sit with 4 fouls at the 7:15 mark.

Jokic is putting the Nuggets in his back in the 3rd. 11 points in the first 6 minutes.

Back to back 3s for Lord Covington quell the rally temporarily.

back-to-back pic.twitter.com/jx9Gg2cQaJ

ā€” Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 4, 2021

I canā€™t believe there are still nets on these hoops because everyone is on fire!

4th foul on Nurkic at the 2 minute mark in the 3rd. All four happened in the 3rd quarter.Ā  Clearly a charge.Ā  Smh.Ā Ā 

 

5th foul on Campazzo at the 1 minute mark in the 3rd.

Monte Morris hits a running 3 pointer at the buzzer to end the quarter and this does not bode well.

101-98 Blazers.

Fourth Quarter:

Paul Millsap floater to start the quarter. Nuggets only down 1. Shot clock violation on first possession for the Blazers. Uh-oh. Not a good start.

Nuggets take the lead on a Monte Morris pull-up. 102-101 at 10:03.

Back to back vintage pull-up midrange jumpers for Melo. Fouled on the second by MPJ for the and-one. Vintage.



MPJ is falling back to earth after missing 2 straight 3s and a turnover.

A Monte Morris 3 cuts the lead to one at 7:06 and Jokic, Nurk and Norman Powell are coming back in for the closing stretch.

Jokic hits a Dame distance 3 to take the lead. That’s not fair.



Nurk gets a bucket off a pretty assist from Lillard.

Jokic misses a contested lay-in and the rebound is pushed out of bounds by JaMychal Green.

Refs call it off the Blazers and Stotts uses his challenge.

Call stands. Unbelievable.

Really bad time for a turnover by Nurk.

Dubious foul call on Norman Powell underneath His 5th. Green hits both.

5th foul on Nurk at 4:01.Ā  Smh.Ā  This isn’t looking good.Ā Ā 

Austin Rivers follows that with a 3 to stretch it to a 9 point lead after a 22-7 run.Ā  Two straight Blazers’ turnovers and then Jokic hits a spinning 5 footer to stretch the lead to 11.

Lillard hits a layup. Next time down, he’s fouled on a 3. Hits all three. Does he still have some magic left?

119-113 with 2:30 to go.

Jokic finished the pick and roll in traffic for a 121-113 lead with 1:24 to go.

After a CJ McCollum layup, Jokic misses and the Nuggets get the offensive rebound. It leads to a Aaron Gordon corner 3.



Dame misses a pull-up 3. 1-6 in the 4th and 1-9 in the 2nd half.Ā  He wasn’t the same after falling hard and hitting his head.Ā  He also played 43 minutes tonight.Ā Ā 

Carmelo and Dame exit at the 30 second mark.

Is that the last time we see Carmelo in the NBA?

Another missed 3. Nuggets rebound.

126-115 Nuggets.


Great win for the Nuggets to close things out on the road. Too much Jokic in the second half. He played like he was the MVP of the league.

Blazers looked tired in the 4th and just ran out of gas. Despite setting an NBA record for most 3 pointers made in a playoff series with 35 and averaging 34.3 PPG Damian Lillard couldn’t summon the late game magic again.

Going into the offseason, this team has a lot of questions to answer.

Do you trade Nurk?

Or CJ?

Does Stotts get another season?

It’ll be interesting to see what Jody Allen, Neil Olshey and company come up with.

A first round exit is not what this team wanted at the beginning of this season, but it’s now happened 4 of the last 5 years.Ā  .Ā  .Ā  .

Nevertheless, a big thank you to all the players and coaches for performing each and every night during a global pandemic. It was fun to watch and we appreciate you, no matter what happens.Ā Ā 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Portland Trail Blazers

Blazers dominate Denver to tie series at 2-2

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

After a frustrating Game 3 gave the visitors a 2-1 series lead in Portland, the Trail Blazers were back in action to try and even the tie on Saturday afternoon.Ā 

They did so in impressive fashion. It was a team effort that paid massive dividends on both ends. Powell’s aggression, CJ’s shotmaking, and Nurk’s controlled chaos were the biggest differences from Game 3, but some timely shots from Melo and only 16 from Jokic certainly helped.Ā 

Game Summary

Portland leapt out to a 23-13 lead in the first quarter behind 10 quick points from Norman Powell. Powell, who struggled in Game 3, had a pair of quick layups and canned two threes to give the Blazers an early edge.Ā 

Jusuf Nurkic was also winning the early battle against his former teammate, Nikola Jokic. The likely MVP started 1-for-7 from the field, while Nurk began 4/4. Most importantly, the Bosnian Beast was able to match Jokic for minutes while committing only one foul in the first quarter.Ā 

Denver’s second rotation cut Portland’s once-double-digit lead to twoā€”led by five points in two possessions from JaMychal Greenā€”but Portland’s starters would retake the advantage and lead 57-47 at the half.Ā 

While Dame’s midrange game was not paying dividends, Portland’s defense was. Holding Jokic to 11 points on 12 shots was a huge advantage, especially given the 13 points from both Nurk and Norm.Ā 

Powell would continue his impressive performance to start the third, and Portland’s lead swelled to 21 at the 9:05 mark. Jokic was still struggling as well, and although Dame’s shots weren’t falling, CJ picked up the slack offensively.Ā 

In Game 3, Carmelo Anthony hit a clutch three to tie the game with about five minutes remaining. On Saturday, he swished his second triple to give Portland a 30-point advantage: 88-58 with 2:23 left in the third. CJ McCollum almost maintained the lead, but the buzzer beat his three at the end of the quarter.Ā 

Nassir Little, Derrick Jones Jr., and CJ Elleby got their first Playoff minutes as they checked in with under five to go and an insurmountable lead. Keljin Blevins and TJ Leaf would follow soon after.Ā 

Little’s rejection of JaVale McGee was the icing on the cake for a dominant Portland performance, a much-needed 30-point victory for a team that struggled in their last two performances.Ā 

Game 5 on Tuesday will obviously be crucial, but this was a great way to tie the series at two games apiece.Ā 

 

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Portland Trail Blazers

Portland’s pathetic defense and coaching costs them Game 2 in Denver

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

On a night when the Portland Trail Blazers could have really put the Denver Nuggets in a deep hole in these playoffs their terrible defense and even worse coaching. The Blazers couldn’t use the record-breaking night from Damian Lillard to take a 2-0 series lead at Ball Arena in Denver.

Terry Stotts made some decisions tonight that would have had rookie middle school coaches scratching their head.

First Quarter Thoughts

As expected the Nuggets started out red hot and lept out to a double-digit lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Nuggets were hitting all their threes and Nikola Jokic was doing his typical MVP-type things. The Blazers did not have the energy early on to keep up with the Nugget onslaught.

Nate Tibbets and Michael Porter Jr decided to get into it a bit after a timeout. It’s not often that you see an assistant coach get into it with an opposing player. Both individuals were assessed technical fouls and we are allowed to move on with our lives.

Nikola Jokic is ridiculous. There is a shot that he could go for somewhere around 700 points tonight. Not sure if defensive mastermind, Terry Stotts, has it in his constitution to put together a game plan that can stop Jokic.

Logo Lillard knocks down a three from well, the logo. Anfernee Simons follows up with a three of his own and the Blazers are only down six to end the quarter. All things considered, things could have gotten way out of hand. It might have been a success only being down by around 11.

Second Quarter Thoughts

Lillard goes to the bench and the Blazers begin to turn the ball over again. The Denver defense has been solid tonight, but some of these turnovers by Portland are definitely self-inflicted. They are going to need to start taking care of the ball to keep things close.

Denver took advantage of the turnovers to push the lead up to 16 points. Michael Porter Jr. is really becoming that second and third option that the Nuggets needed.

I also don’t like how this game is being called both ways. The officials are keeping their whistles in their pockets on some stuff that would have been a foul in a Knicks-Heat series back in the 90s. I like letting them play, but not when dudes are getting knocked out into the covid riddled fans of Denver.

Carmelo Anthony and CJ McCollum knock down a couple of baskets to give the Blazers some hope. Paul Milsap decided he didn’t like to give hope to anyone and had back-to-back three-point plays to push the Nuggets’ lead up to 18 points.

It might just be time to take a shower and head off to bed.

Damian Lillard was not ready for bed and he did not care that the bus was warming up. He hit three straight threes to cut the Nuggets lead down to 11, 57-46 with 4:45 left in the half. It seems like it’s been since February since we’ve seen this Damian Lillard. It looks like that hamstring might finally be healthy.

Oh hey, Derrick Jones Jr. finally was allowed to get into the game. They needed someone to slow MPJ down.

Lillard hits another three and goes to the line for two free throws. The Denver lead is down to only eight points, 61-53. The man is absolutely ridiculous right now. He has 29 points for the game and 19 in — he hit another three before I could finish typing out this sentence.

My god! I have a feeling I’m going to need a cigarette after this and I don’t even smoke.

Lillard single-handed led the Blazers back within four points. it doesn’t matter where he is shooting from they are all going down. There is no better step-back three in all of the league.

The Nuggets were forced to call a timeout and Mike Malone got Denver to pick up the defensive intensity. This led to some big plays by the Nuggets who finished the half on a 9-0 run to take a 73-61 lead into halftime.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Portland is focusing on getting CJ and Nurk going to start the third quarter here. I like the move to get their other two main scorers going, but Lillard had the hot hand — it’s a damned if you do and a damned if you don’t situation. I’d like to see Norman Powell get going as well.

It might also be because Aaron Gordon is now on Damian Lillard.

The Nuggets have only outscored the Blazers by three points (8-5) so far here in the third quarter, but it feels so much more than that. I’m having flashbacks to that 94 series of the Sonics and Nuggets with how loud the crowd is getting into this. If I were the Blazers I’d start using Norm as the point guard and play both Dame and CJ off the ball. Make their defenders work a bit more.

Austin Rivers and Facundo Campazzo have both been pretty annoying in various ways this game. I’d love Campazzo if here were a Blazer, but he’s not.

Looking at the box score and Robert Covington has not taken a single shot this game. He’s not done much else either. Enes Kanter with only two points and three boards in this game as well. Only seven points combined from the Blazer bench. Eesh, Carmelo Anthony and Simons really need to get going.

Greg Anthony with the Bobby Heenan “ham and egger” reference. Damn, I miss that dude. His work at Royal Rumble 92 is some of the best wrestling commentary work of all time.

Campazzo gets a flagrant on CJ by just running into CJ. That is one of the worst calls I’ve seen in a game of bad calls. This leads to a four-point play by the Nuggets and they are back up by 17 points. Yet again, this is another really bad Blazer third quarter.

Threes by both Dame and CJ to end the quarter cut the Nugget lead down to 14.

That was not pretty whatsoever. I can’t wait until Stotts is fired and third quarters might not be something to be scared of anymore.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

Portland had some nice defensive energy to start the fourth quarter. Nurkic with a big move to start the quarter, Powell attacking, and Nurkic fouls Milsap for no apparent reason… this was his fifth foul. About 15 seconds later he fouls out of the game.

No idea why Stotts didn’t pull Nurk out with so much time left and Jokic not on the court. Stotts makes some of the dumbest coaching mistakes I’ve ever seen in games. Nurk was playing well to start the fourth, but not to the point of leading the Blazers back on his own. He’s best served using that last foul on Jokic at some point in the final six minutes of the game after Kanter gets a rest.

Stotts then challenged the foul and it was unsuccessful. It was an obvious foul so the challenge was just a waste of the challenge and a timeout. The Nuggets of course go on a 9-0 to get the lead back up to 20 and ice the game.

Monte Morris, Shaquille Harrison, and Jokic finished off the game as the Blazers brought in the back end of the bench. At least Harry Giles, Nassir Little, and CJ Elleby got some playoff minutes. That’s about the only positive for the night.

Not a good look at all tonight.

Up Next

Game 3 is on Thursday at 7:30 PM — the series switches to Portland.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. shoot Blazers past Denver Nuggets

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda

Tonight could have been a big let down. The Nuggets were missing five rotation players and had a tough game against the Spurs the night before. Throughout the year these are the types of games that have been tough for the Blazers and down the stretch it did get tough with Denver taking a lead late in the fourth

Key three pointers from Damian Lillard and Gary Trent Jr. put the Blazers ahead for good and Jusuf Nurkic ended the scoring with one of his many dunks on the night as the Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets, 125-115.

The Blazers are now only a half game out of the eighth seed.

First Quarter Thoughts

Coming into the game I had some worries that Michael Porter Jr. was going to have a good game against pretty much whomever the Blazers threw out there against him. Porter has been one of the better players in these bubble games over the last week.

He rarely hit rim in the first.

Porter had 10 points on 4-7 shooting. He came off screens well, beat both Carmelo Anthony and Zach Collins to spots on the floor to knock down some jumpers. Porter did exactly what I thought he was going to do against Portland in this game.

Speaking of Collinsā€¦ I know heā€™s just coming back from an injury and heā€™s not as polished of a player as Jusuf Nurkic, but Collins has been dreadful so far in the restart. He hasnā€™t been able to finish at the rim, his jumper is off, his defense is non-existent. Iā€™d like to see Hassan Whiteside start along with Nurk, but then Portland doesnā€™t have any good bigs to come off the bench. Collins might need to be traded for something. A second round pick might be more valuable now.

Damian Lillard finally got off to a hot start tonight. He hit his first four threes tonight and had 14 points. The BLazers are going to need a big game from him tonight. Gary Trent Jr. did come in half way through the quarter and locked down Porter. MPJ did not score against him.

I continue to think that Trent is the future at the two for Portland.

Blazers were up 27-26 after one.

Second Quarter Thoughts

The Blazers really have something with Gary Trent Jr. Heā€™s the Blazers best defender the Blazers have on the perimeter and the confidence in his shot is currently through the roof. Early in the season I thought Anfernee Simons was going to be the one pushing for a starting spot in the rotation, but Trent Jr. has started to make a case for him to start in the place of CJ or maybe he moves to the three.

Lillard and Trent Jr. are simply feeling it tonight for the Blazers. They are a combined 9-12 from three and have combined for 35 points in the half. Trent Jr. has not missed in the half and his defense has been spectacular. He was the main defender on MPJ again in the second and held him to two points. He might have had a block had not Porter used the rim to protect against the defender.

Bol Bol might be the smoothest big man to ever play the game. Heā€™s got great range and can put it on the floor to get to the rim. But his defense could use a little help because Jusuf Nurkic murdered him on a dunk toward the end of the quarter.

The Blazers headed into the half up 62-49. This was one of the better halves Iā€™ve seen the Blazers play all year. The Nuggets are missing five rotation players at the moment, but the same could be said for the Blazers throughout the first part of the season.

Third Quarter Thoughts

Jusuf Nurkic has played well since coming back from that gruesome broken leg. Heā€™s rebounding well, passing well, his jump shot looks as good as it has in a while. The one thing thatā€™s off and itā€™s probably just a comfort thing, but it is touch within a couple feet from the hoop. Heā€™s missed quite a few layups and gimme hook shots. This will probably work itself out in the near future.

At least I hope so.

Lillard looks like heā€™s having a shoot around session in this game. Heā€™s calm, collected, and determined tonight. If Dame can get into one of those stretches where it doesnā€™t matter who is guarding him, heā€™s going to put up 50 points. And there wonā€™t be damn thing anyone can do it about.

In the third quarter any time the Nuggets have made a run Lillard responded with a big basket. Nuggets would cut the lead down to six or seven and Dame would just run it back up to 10-12.

Until the end of the quarter. Nuggets got some solid contributions from Bol Bol, Jerami Grant, and Tori Craig to cut the Blazer lead down to five at the end of the third.

Blazers lead 92-87.

Fourth Quarter Thoughts

The Nuggets continued their hot shooting and excellent ball movement ways. Michael Porter Jr. converted an old school three point play for the Nuggets to get their first lead in the game. Denver made some excellent halftime adjustments to start picking the Blazers apart on the offensive end. There is a lot of movement off the ball that is forcing the Blazers to switch. The Nuggets then either find an open cutter or takes advantage of a mismatch. Something they were not doing at all in the first half.

I have to say it again, Damian Lillard is outstanding. The man has no quit in his body. A team without him might get blown out at this point in the game. Weā€™ve seen this happen in numerous games over the years. Damian Lillard flat out doesnā€™t allow the Blazers to fall apart. Heā€™s going to fight until the very end, every night.

Gary Trent Jr. has guarded all five positions tonight. Heā€™s got two steals, but the most impressive stat so far on the night is that his man is only 2-8 against him tonight for four points. In the fourth quarter he had two dagger three pointers to keep the Blazers safely out front.

Lillard had 45, Trent with 27, and Nurkic had 22.

Next Up

Blazers have a rare 10:00 AM game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail