Portland Trail Blazers vs Denver Nuggets Match Player Stats On Apr 05, 2019

Nikola Jokic finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, Paul Millsap scored 25 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 119-110 on Friday night.

Jamal Murray scored 23 points to help the Nuggets clinch the Northwest Division and at least the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Denver (53-26) has a slim chance at the top seed and leads Houston by 1 1/2 games for the second seed, with a game at hand.

Enes Kanter had 24 points, Rodney Hood had 17 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Portland (50-29). Damian Lillard scored 14 points and missed all six of his 3-point attempts.

Down three heading into the final 12 minutes, Jokic gave Denver a boost. He scored the team's first seven points of the period and put the Nuggets ahead 98-91 with a spin move and layup with 8:21 left.

After a Portland turnover, Jokic fed Torrey Craig for a layup, and Monte Morris' long jumper gave Denver a 102-93 lead with 7:14 left.

Portland cut it to three, but a bank shot by Murray and a putback by Craig made it 114-107 with 1:12 left. Craig, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, hit a 3-pointer with 12.5 seconds left to seal it.

Denver's cold shooting to start the game allowed Portland to take an 11-point lead. The Trail Blazers made their first four shots and quickly went in front. They stretched it to 29-18 late in the first quarter, but the Nuggets finally got their offense going.

They started the second quarter on a 12-2 run to go ahead 34-31, and the lead fluctuated throughout the second quarter. Denver, thanks to a 14-0 edge in made free throws, took a 56-50 lead into the half.

Lillard was scoreless until his layup with less than a second left in the second quarter.

Denver led 73-64 midway through the third quarter before Portland rallied to take the lead heading into the fourth. The Trail Blazers outscored the Nuggets 23-11 in the final 6:16 of the period to lead 87-84 after three.

--Field Level Media