Denver Nuggets (51-28) beat Portland Trail Blazers (40-39) 137-132 at home on Monday, April 6 in overtime.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Trail Blazers had the better start, winning the first 35-31 to lead by 4 after one. The Trail Blazers kept the pressure on with a 37-27 second quarter, carrying a 14-point lead into halftime.
The teams matched each other with 29 points apiece in the third quarter, so the Trail Blazers remained ahead by 14 entering the fourth. The Nuggets answered with a 38-24 fourth quarter, forcing overtime at 125.
The Nuggets finally separated the teams in overtime, winning it 12-7 to close out a 137-132 victory.
What decided it
The Nuggets grabbed 37.8% of their own misses, while the Trail Blazers recovered 28.2%. The Nuggets took better care of the ball, turning it over on 11.3% of possessions compared with 14.2% for the Trail Blazers. In a 5-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Trail Blazers did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 25.8 against 20.8. The Nuggets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 106 possessions per team, the Nuggets produced 129.3 points per 100 possessions to 124.6 for the Trail Blazers.
Who stepped up
Nikola Jokic was the game's biggest individual force for DEN: 35 pts, 14 reb, 13 ast, 5 stl on 15-31 shooting. His Game Score of 35 led everyone. His team was +5 with him on the floor.
Toumani Camara led the Trail Blazers with 30 pts, 5 reb, 0 ast on 10-16 shooting, good for a 22.3 Game Score.
Nikola Jokic (35 pts, 14 reb, 13 ast), Donovan Clingan (18 pts, 12 reb, 0 ast), and Jrue Holiday (19 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Nuggets about a 76% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Denver Nuggets lead 4-3.
The Nuggets are now 51-28, and the Trail Blazers are 40-39. The Nuggets last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.