PORTLAND, Ore. – Nikola Jokic had 36 points and 11 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 120-115 Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Austin Rivers hit four consecutive 3 pointers during a crucial stretch in the final quarter and finished with 21 points for third-seeded Denver, which had 20 3s overall.
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The Blazers struggled from 3-point range and got poor shooting from their bench players despite cheers from the biggest home crowd allowed at the Moda Center this season. Damian Lillard led all scorers with 37 points.
Game 4 is Saturday at the Moda Center.
Denver led 84-79 heading into the final period, but Portland tied it at 91 on Carmelo Anthony's 3-pointer with just under seven minutes to play.
Rivers' third straight 3-pointer put the Nuggets up 102-94 with 3:49 left and his teammates rushed over to celebrate with him as a timeout was called.
The Blazers were hurt when Jusuf Nurkic fouled out with 5:15 left. Nurkic finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Portland pulled within 108-103 after Lillard’s dunk with 1:38 left, but Rivers answered with another 3-pointer that all but sealed it. Rivers had five 3-pointers.
Sixth-seeded Portland opened the first round with a 123-109 victory in Denver. But the Nuggets adjusted to take Game 2 128-109.
The playoffs have been a scrappy battle for points between Lillard and Jokic. Lillard was averaging 38 points and 11.5 rebounds through the first two games, while Jokic averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds.
The Nuggets led by as many as 12 points in the opening half as Portland uncharacteristically struggled from the perimeter. The Blazers' bench also struggled, with just three points collectively in the opening half.
Denver made 12 of its 20 3-point attempts and led 64-59 at the break.
Jokic made back-to-back 3 pointers to put the Nuggets up 75-64, but Portland responded with a 11-2 run to get within 77-75.
Portland made just 14 of 45 3-point attempts in the game.
Denver's playoff record for 3s in a game is 22, set last year in the opening round against Utah.
FAN SUPPORT
The Blazers were allowed to increase capacity to a maximum of 8,000 fans for the playoff games at the Moda Center. That was up from the 10% capacity (about 1,900 fans) for the final four games of the regular season.
Portland also added sections with no social distancing requirements for fully vaccinated fans.
TIP-INS
Nuggets: Will Barton went through pre-game warmups with the Nuggets, but remained out with a hamstring strain. He has missed 16 games. ... The Nuggets went 14-6 over their final 20 road games of the regular season.
Trail Blazers: Back in 2019 when the Blazers downed the Nuggets in seven games in the Western Conference semifinals, Portland won Game 3 with the series tied at 1-1. That Game 3 was an epic four-overtime clash with the Blazers prevailing 140-137.
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