The Portland Trail Blazers responded well to their Game 5 loss to set the stage for Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday afternoon. Sunday, May 12 at 3:30 PM ET Pepsi Center Coverage: ABC *All odds and betting info courtesy of OddsShark and originally posted by Bookmaker Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets (-5.5 at -110) Over/Under: 212.5 at -110 Lillard, McCollum and Hood Pace Trail Blazers The Trail Blazers forced a Game 7 with an impressive 119-108 win in Game 6 against the Nuggets last Thursday. Damian Lillard finished with 32 points, five assists and three rebounds, CJ McCollum added 30 points, six rebounds and three assists and Rodney Hood went off for a playoff career-high 25 points in 32 minutes off the bench. Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Nuggets, Jamal Murray put up 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Paul Millsap added 17 points, six rebounds and three steals and Gary Harris finished with 15 points and five assists. Defense and rebounding made a difference for the Trail Blazers in Game 6. They gave up 124 points in Game 5, the most in regulation during this playoffs. The Nuggets outrebounded them 62-43, with 52 of the 62 rebounds allowed being defensive rebounds off the 62 shots that the Trail Blazers missed. The Trail Blazers made significant improvements in both areas in Game 6, they got outrebounded 44-43 but they let the Nuggets pull down just 28 defensive rebounds off their 48 missed shots while they grabbed 32 defensive rebounds off the 53 missed attempts from their opponent. Rodney Hood scored a playoff career-high 25 PTS to help the Blazers force Game 7 pic.twitter.com/OgHKTuxiWw — Bleacher Report NBA (@BR_NBA) May 10, 2019 Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless struggled in Game 6; Aminu scored seven points but he was just 1-for-4 from the free-throw line and he finished with a team-low -9 plus/minus (+/-) in 17 minutes while Harkless had just two points on 1 of 5 shooting in 16 minutes for a -8 plus/minus (+/-). With Aminu and Harkless having off nights, Rodney Hood, the team’s third-leading scorer in this series, stepped up once again, delivering 25 points on 8-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range, proving that he was always this good and just needed a chance to showcase his talent. Trail Blazers vs. Nuggets Trends and Prediction The Portland Trail Blazers are: 34-16-3 ATS in their last 53 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points 26-12 ATS in their last 38 games when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game 5-2 ATS in their last seven games when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game The Denver Nuggets are: No key trends Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum had 30-point games on Thursday and the Trail Blazers need them to have a similar type of performance if they want to win Game 7. Both players are tailor-made for the bright lights and if Aminu and Harkless get going and Hood continues to shine they will be in good shape on Sunday. Lillard, McCollum and Hood Combine For 87 Points In PIVOTAL Game 6 | May 9, 2019The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets by a final score of 119-108 to force a winner-take-all Game 7. The Trail Blazers were led by the trio of Damian Lillard (32 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists), C.J. McCollum (30 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists), and Rodney Hood (25 points, 4 assists) in the… 2019-05-10T05:59:33.000Z The Trail Blazers did a good job retooling their effort on defense and rebounding and if they keep that increased focus and energy they can advance to the Western Conference Finals. Pick: Trail Blazers +5.5 READ NEXT: Is James Harden the 2019 NBA MVP over Giannis Antetokounmpo?<doc-sep>A late-game comeback attempt fell short in Game 7 as cold shooting and tough shot-making from C.J. McCollum did the Denver Nuggets in. Despite a furious comeback attempt in the final minutes, the Nuggets’ season came to an end in the Western Conference semifinals Sunday. "Tonight is the end of the season, but I'm not going to allow it to take away from the magical year we had,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. “I couldn't have asked for anything more from our guys." It was another quick start for the Nuggets as they jumped out to an early 14-7 lead on the back of strong shooting (5 of 7 from the field, 2 of 2 from three). A balanced scoring attack led the way for Denver in the quarter, as four players scored at least 6 points. The Nuggets held Portland to 7-of-25 from the field on their way to building a 29-17 lead after one. Denver’s bench extended the lead to 39-22 after the first five minutes of the second as the defense continued to get stops. Portland would respond with a 9-0 run midway through the quarter to get within eight points, but the Nuggets starters extended the lead back up to double-digits shortly after. Ultimately, the Nuggets took a 48-39 lead into the halftime break. Portland continued to chip away at the lead to begin the third quarter. Midway through the quarter, the Nuggets lead was cut down to just five at 60-55. It was a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the quarter as the Nuggets held on to a 72-71 lead after three. Portland outscored Denver 32-24 in the quarter to climb back into the game. The Trail Blazers went on an early 10-4 run to begin the fourth quarter, which gave them an 81-76 lead with just under nine minutes remaining. Portland continued to hold on to a lead throughout the majority of the quarter as Denver’s offense struggled to consistently generate quality looks. Although Denver’s defense continued to get stops, the offense wasn’t able to cut into Portland’s lead. The Nuggets made a valiant effort in the final minutes of the game, as they used a 10-4 run of their own to get within one point with 30 seconds remaining. However, McCollum responded with a step-back jumper to extend Portland’s lead back up to three. Portland decided to foul on the ensuing possession and Nikola Jokić missed the first of two free throws. Denver’s season was riding on Evan Turner, who calmly knocked down two free throws to all but seal the Portland victory. "The Denver Nuggets had an outstanding season, no one saw that coming,” Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. “Nikola Jokić is an amazing player, they're a young team, they're going to have a lot of success moving forward." Three takeaways: 1) C.J. McCollum couldn’t be stopped All of the noise coming into Game 7 was about Damian Lillard having another opportunity to make his mark on a series. However, ultimately it was McCollum who led the way for Portland as he dropped 37 points on 58.6 percent shooting from the field. McCollum dribbled his way into a variety of looks from around the court as Denver couldn’t consistently take him out of the game. In a game in which Lillard struggled mightily, McCollum answered the bell for Portland. 2) Nikola Jokić continued to dominate A main storyline throughout the entire series was the lack of defensive options that Portland had for Nikola Jokić. The trend continued in Game 7 as Denver’s All-Star finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 42 minutes of action. Jokić had success throughout the series and proved that he can be the No. 1 option for a team in the playoffs, even while shouldering a big usage and heavy minutes. Despite the tough loss, Jokić continued to be the driving force until the very end. "I hope after 14 playoff games that America came to appreciate Nikola's game,” Malone said. “He's upset because he didn't think he did enough for us to win the game. We all know it's not on him." 3) Denver was locked in defensively Just as they did in their first Game 7 this postseason, the Nuggets came to play on the defensive end. Portland shot just 40.9 percent from the field and 15.4 percent from beyond the arc. Denver’s perimeter defense against Lillard was particularly impressive, as Lillard was held to 13 points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field, which put more pressure on McCollum to lead the Trail Blazers’ offense. The Nuggets continued to stay in the game as a result of their defense, which gave them an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds. Despite the season-ending loss, Malone is more than comfortable with the state of the franchise. "I love where we're at, but more importantly I love where we're going and who we're going there with."<doc-sep>The Portland Trail Blazers roared home after being down by as many as 17 points to book their ticket to the Western Conference Finals. The Portland Trail Blazers are heading to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000 after a thrilling 100-96 Game 7 win over the Denver Nuggets on the road. CJ McCollum led the way with a game-high 37 points on the night, with Damian Lillard struggling with his shot all game, connecting on just 3-of-17 shots for his 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 29 points, 13 rebounds and two assists, with Jamal Murray adding 17 and Gary Harris 15. With the Blazers booking an appointment with the Golden State Warriors, here are four key takeaways from today's action... CJ McCollum came to play On a night where Damian Lillard struggled to get going, CJ McCollum took the reigns for the Blazers, willing them to a Game 7 victory. McCollum scored 14 of his game-high 37 points in the crucial third quarter, helping the Blazers claw their way back from as many as 17 points down to go into the fourth quarter trailing by just one point. In the final 90 seconds of the game, McCollum came up with two huge mid-range jumpers to keep the Blazers in front, scoring six of their final eight points on the night. McCollum channelled his inner LeBron with his Game 7 heroics, doing his best impersonation of the King with this monster chasedown block on Jamal Murray in the fourth quarter. Dame steps up when it matters most It was a rough Game 7 for Damian Lillard. Despite finishing with just 13 points on 3-for-17 shooting from the field, Portland's All-Star guard was involved in one of the game's biggest sequences. With 3:28 remaining in the game, Denver grabbed a defensive rebound with an opportunity to cut into a four-point deficit. All-Star centre Nikola Jokic tossed an errant outlet pass that was intercepted by Lillard, who found Evan Turner on the wing before he relocated to the left corner for a wide-open triple. While Lillard struggled to get going from the field, he made his presence felt as he grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out eight assists and snagged three steals in the Blazers' decisive win. As the Blazers move on to face the Warriors, improved production and efficiency is to be expected from Lillard. Moments like the one above serve as a reminder that big-time players will always find a way to make an impact regardless of how the game is going. A tale of two halves The Blazers just couldn't buy a bucket in the first half of Game 7 and were lucky to go into the third quarter trailing by only nine points. Outside of McCollum, the rest of the team shot just 7-of-34 in the first half, with Lillard managing just seven points on 1-of-9 shooting. Credit the Nuggets, who came out of the gates playing decisively on their home floor as they made a point to smother Lillard at every turn, limiting his impact all game. After Denver took a 12-point lead after the first quarter and a 17-point lead in the second, they couldn't finish the job, letting the Blazers back in as they struggled to keep up their offence as they game wore on. Both teams struggled shooting the ball from deep, with the Blazers going 4-of-26 from deep, while the Nuggets hit just 2-of-19 threes, missing their final 17 attempts after Jokic his two early triples in the first quarter. What goes on at the top Last summer, when CJ McCollum spoke with Warriors All-Star forward Kevin Durant on the Blazers' title aspirations, this was his response: Kevin Durant busts out laughing when CJ McCollum says the Blazers can win the title: 'Don't worry about what goes on at the top of things'https://t.co/jMHDvDEe8g pic.twitter.com/AWCZrQP8BP - Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) July 25, 2018 Now, 10 months later, a virtuoso performance from McCollum has earned the Blazers a date with the Warriors, who await the return of the injured Durant and DeMarcus Cousins, in the Western Conference Finals. What was once a laughable anecdote has now become an interesting reality in which McCollum, Lillard and the Blazers will look to continue to shock the NBA world.<doc-sep>CJ McCollum scored 37 points and the Portland Trail Blazers overcame a 17-point first-half deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 100-96 on Sunday to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000. Evan Turner, who scored just four points in the first six games of the series, added 14 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers advanced to face the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, beginning Tuesday night in Oakland, California. Turner corralled the rebound when Nikola Jokic's desperation three-pointer hit the rim and dribbled out the clock, sending the stunned crowd streaming to the exits at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets owned the best record in the league during the regular season but where they lost twice to Portland in the series. The Nuggets raced to a 39-22 lead and Game 7 was beginning to look a lot like Game 5, when Denver blew out Portland by 26 points in this building. But Blazers coach Terry Stotts called a timeout with 7:26 left in the second quarter and his team began chipping away. "There wasn't going to be any quit," Stotts said. "I didn't think they ever stopped believing. ... It was just about regrouping." Seth & Steph Curry will be the first brothers to ever play each other in an NBA conference finals. Sonya & Dell Curry told me their plan is to literally flip a coin to split which kid to root for/which parent wears which team’s gear. —@Rachel__Nichols The Blazers were down 48-39 at halftime and trailed by just a point head into the fourth quarter. That's when the Nuggets' hopes of reaching their first Western Conference Finals in a decade died with a 7-of-24 shooting performance, including 3 of 10 from Jokic, who tearfully blamed himself in the locker room for the loss. Nonsense, said his coach, Michael Malone, who said Jokic proved to the world in these last 14 playoff games that he's the best big man in basketball and he only petered out at the end because the Nuggets had to rely so heavily on their seven-foot All-Star. 'Magical year' for Denver It was a devastating end to Denver's season after the Nuggets ended a six-year playoff drought and earned the second seed in the Western Conference bracket. "I'm not going to allow Game 7 loss to take away from a magical year," Malone said, "and it doesn't feel that way right now but when I reflect, and when our players reflect, on what we were able to accomplish — hell of a year, couldn't ask for anything more from our guys." McCollum, who had 30 points in Portland's Game 6 victory, came up big on a night Damian Lillard made just 3 of 17 shots for 13 points. But two of those buckets were crucial three-pointers in the fourth quarter. The first one gave Portland an 81-76 lead and the second one made it 92-85 and followed Lillard's steal of Jokic's outlet pass. Jokic led Denver with 29 points, but missed 15 shots. Jamal Murray had 14 points, but was 4 of 18 from the floor.<doc-sep>
The Portland Trail Blazers have advanced to the Western Conference finals, thanks to a 100-96 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7 of their second-round series. This will be Portland's first WCF appearance since 2000. Early on, it appeared the Nuggets were going to run the Trail Blazers out of the gym. They were up by 12 at the end of the first quarter, and extended that lead to 17 points in the second. But the Blazers used a nice run at the end of the half to cut the deficit to nine points. It not only made things more manageable, but gave them plenty of positive momentum. They continued their comeback in the third quarter, getting right back into the game behind CJ McCollum, who was fantastic all night. When McCollum hit a jumper late in the quarter, it gave the Blazers their first lead of the game. From there, the fourth quarter was a wild, back-and-forth affair as the two teams traded big baskets time and again. In the closing seconds, McCollum hit a step-back jumper to give the Blazers a three-point lead, and after some free throws on each side, that was the game. McCollum finished with 37 points and nine rebounds to lead the Blazers, while Nikola Jokic went for 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets. Here are some takeaways from the Blazers' thrilling victory: McCollum delivers in the clutch For most of the postseason, Damian Lillard has received the accolades in Portland -- and for good reason. But McCollum has been strong as well, and he kept that up with a massive performance on Sunday afternoon. When the Blazers were on the verge of being run out of the gym in the first half, McCollum was the only one scoring and keeping them in the game. And in the third quarter, he continued to power their comeback, eventually drilling a jumper in the closing seconds of the frame to give the Blazers their first lead of the night. Down the stretch, he continued to make big plays on both ends of the floor, coming up with a huge chasedown block on Jamal Murray before hitting a step-back jumper with 12 seconds to go to seal the Blazers' win. His performance was even more impressive considering Damian Lillard struggled for much of the night. Though he did make some big plays down the stretch as well, Lillard only scored 13 points in the game, shooting 3-of-17 from the field. Blazers' role players step up With Damian Lillard mired in his worst shooting performance of the postseason, the Trail Blazers needed other players to step up. McCollum was up for the task, but even he couldn't do it alone. The good news for Portland was that Evan Turner and Zach Collins had come to play as well. Turner has taken plenty of ridicule for failing to live up to his huge contract, but the man earned his pay in Game 7. Prior to Sunday, Turner had made just three baskets and scored seven points in 140 minutes this postseason -- a stat that seems almost made up, to be honest. But in Game 7, he was everywhere, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block while also playing solid defense. Most important was that he scored 10 of those points in the fourth quarter to help secure the Trail Blazers' win. As for Collins, he showed why the Blazers are so high on his potential. He gave them some huge minutes in Game 7, finishing with seven points, five rebounds and four blocks in a solid all-around performance. Collins' ability to space the floor while still holding his own against Jokic was vital for the Blazers with Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless struggling. Nuggets burned by 3s and free throws The Nuggets had a 17-point lead in the second quarter of Game 7, and appeared on their way to the Western Conference finals. But, of course, their season is now over, thanks in large part to their inability to hit two of the biggest shots in basketball: 3-pointers and free throws. After Jokic hit two triples in the opening few minutes of the game, the Nuggets didn't hit a single 3 the rest of the way, missing 17 straight attempts to close the game, an ironic number considering they blew a 17-point lead along the way.