Sunday night was a key one in the race for No. 8 in the Western Conference as the Portland Trail Blazers jumped over the Denver Nuggets for possession of that seed. The Nuggets had been in control of the spot for a good portion of the season, but face a more-than crucial game tonight as they travel to Portland. Nick Kosmider of The Denver Post sets the stage:
The stakes create added significance. Both teams enter the game 35-38. The Trail Blazers at season’s end likely will own a tiebreaker over the Nuggets, whether by virtue of head-to-head record (Denver trails the season series 2-1) or by Northwest Division record — an edge Portland would clinch with one win in its final five division games. That means a Nuggets loss Tuesday, in a practical sense as it pertains to the playoff chase, would put them two games behind the Trail Blazers with eight games left. And, Denver plays six of its final eight games on the road while Portland plays six of its last eight at home.
Any way you cut it, it’s hard to imagine a path to the playoffs for the Nuggets that doesn’t begin with a win inside the Moda Center on Tuesday night.
“It’s big because it’s the next game,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s the only reason why. We haven’t looked at standings the whole time, and we’re not going to start looking at it now because it’s Portland.”
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Portland has resurrected its season with the help of Jusuf Nurkic, who was backing up Nikola Jokic at center for the Nuggets before he was traded to the Trail Blazers, along with a first-round pick, for Mason Plumlee in February. Nurkic has averaged 14 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 blocks in 18 games (17 starts) with Portland. The attention Nurkic has commanded inside has opened opportunities for Portland’s talented backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum.
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Momentum belongs to the Trail Blazers, who have an 83 percent chance to capture the No. 8 seed, according to the website fivethirtyeight.com.
“It’s going to be a tough game,” Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur said. “It’s going to be a scrappy battle, so we’ve got to go in and compete and play a full 48 (minutes). We have to finish this season out strong.”
