The Denver Nuggets, once again relying on their uncanny ability to dig deep when it matters most, completed a weekend sweep against the Portland Trail Blazers with a 112-103 comeback victory Sunday night. Jamal Murray expressed his desire for the team to start games more sharply, rather than having to "kick it into another gear". The Nuggets found themselves trailing by as much as 14 in the first half but clawed back to take their first lead on a Nikola Jokic layup in the waning seconds of the third quarter.
Murray added 21 points alongside a strong 10-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, emphasizing to ESPN the need for the Nuggets to be "a little more conscious, a little more aware" from the get-go. That championship pedigree saw through yet another test as rookies Christian Braun and Peyton Watson injected some energy in the final stretch. Denver's home record is now an impressive 21-4, markedly improved by the weekend's performances which saw four other players scoring in double digits.
In what was a seesaw battle throughout, the Blazers managed to hush the usually raucous Ball Arena crowd for a good part of the evening. Led by Deandre Ayton's 27 points and Anfernee Simons with 26, Portland was out in front right up until Jokic's finger roll flipped the script. Following their lead was a dry spell spanning into the fourth quarter, where they went scoreless while the Nuggets launched a decisive 16-0 run, as detailed by CBS Sports.
"Our defense got better as the game went along," Nuggets coach Michael Malone outlined after the game, noting how their defensive intensity stepped up several notches in crunch time. Anfernee Simons recognized the Nuggets' quality and resilience, telling CBS Sports that despite a lot of young players rolling out for Portland, he was "pretty happy about how we played today".
Taking advantage of the starts due to injuries to Jerami Grant and Malcolm Brogdon, both Murray and Matisse Thybulle were given the nod. The Blazers showed some fading sharpshooting after the break, sinking only one 3-pointer from 13 attempts in the second half as opposed to hitting 10 before the interval. The weekend also featured young Scott Henderson, who celebrated turning 20 with a strong 14-point performance in the rematch, after exploding for 30 points against the Nuggets as a teenager, Denver 7 highlighted.
