The Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets will determine the fate of their 2019 NBA Playoffs series in game 7 on Sunday, May 12th. Though the date of the contest is certain, time and television broadcast are yet to be determined. Both will hinge on the outcome of Game 6 between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets on Friday. If the Rockets beat the Warriors Friday to force a Game 7, the Blazers will play at 6:30 PM PST. If the Warriors win and close out the series, the Blazers will play at 12:30, PST. Networks for the time slots have yet to be determined. We will update this post as information comes available.<doc-sep>The Portland Trail Blazers face off against the Denver Nuggets today at the Pepsi Center with tipoff at 12:30 p.m. PT on ABC/Watch ESPN. Before the action gets underway, how are you feeling about this Game 7 matchup? Confident? Nervous? At peace? Do you think the Blazers can win this battle on the road and advance to the Western Conference Finals? We’re taking the pulse of Rip City to find out how the fans are feeling about the pivotal showdown. For Game 7 between the Nuggets and Blazers, how are you feeling? Can Portland make magic happen on the road, or will it be the Nuggets who send Portland home from the postseason? Vote in our poll and then head to the comments. Make your score prediction and tell us how you think Game 7 will play out tonight in the comments section. - Tim Brown, The Oregonian/OregonLive | @timfsbrown Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox<doc-sep>It all comes down to one game. After trading a lot of baskets, a bit of trash talk and even a few light blows throughout the course of six games, the three-seed Portland Trail Blazers and the two-seed Denver Nuggets will play a deciding Game 7 Sunday afternoon at the Pepsi Center, with the winner going on to face the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. "For us it's about advancing, keeping our season alive," said Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard. "We know we're going into a hostile environment against a good team. They play well at home, but we've won there before. Our focus is strictly on that, just going in there and win a game, keep our season alive." Tipoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on ABC, Rip City Radio 620 AM and ESPN Radio. SERIES HISTORY REGULAR SEASON, ALL-TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 98-82 IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 69-22 AT THE NUGGETS: Nuggets lead, 60-29 PLAYOFFS, ALL-TIME: Series tied, 7-7 IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 4-3 AT THE NUGGETS: Nuggets lead, 4-3 2018-19 MATCHUPS Fri. Nov. 30: Denver 113, PORTLAND 112 Sun. Jan. 13: DENVER 116, Portland 113 Fri. April 5: DENVER 119, Portland 110 Sun. April 7: PORTLAND 115, Denver 108 SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE PORTLAND - DENVER SECOND ROUND SCHEDULE GAME DATE LOCATION TIME (PDT) Television Game 1 Monday, April 29 Denver 7:30 PM TNT Game 2 Wednesday, May 1 Denver 6 PM TNT Game 3 Friday, May 3 Portland 7:30 PM ESPN Game 4 Sunday, May 5 Portland 4 PM TNT Game 5 Tuesday, May 7 Denver 7:30 PM TNT Game 6 Thursday, May 9 Portland 7:30 ESPN Game 7 Sunday, May 12 Denver 12:30 ABC WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS RESULTS Western Conference Semifinals, Game #6 - Portland 119, Denver 108 — May 9, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon The Trail Blazers evened the series, 3-3, with a 119-108 victory over the Nuggets at Moda Center, setting up Portland’s first Game 7 since a 2003 first round series against Dallas ... Portland’s bench outscored the Denver reserves, 42-13 ... Damian Lillard led Portland with 32 points (11-23 FG, 6-13 3-PT, 4-4 FT) to go with three rebounds, five assists and one steal ... Lillard scored 17 points in the third quarter on 6-of-10 shooting (3-6 3-PT, 2-2 FT) ... CJ McCollum added 30 points (12-24 FG, 2-7 3-PT, 4-4 FT), six rebounds and three assists ... McCollum had 11 points in the fourth quarter ... Rodney Hood led the Portland bench with 25 points (8-12 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 6-9 FT) to go with four rebounds ... Hood scored 10 points in the fourth quarter on 3-of-5 shooting (2-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) ... Zach Collins matched his postseason career high with 14 points (4-8 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 5-5 FT) to go with four rebounds, one assist, one steal and a postseason career-high five blocks ... Nikola Jokic led Denver with 29 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists before fouling out in 37 minutes. Western Conference Semifinals, Game #1 - Denver 121, Portland 113 — April 29, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado The Trail Blazers fell to the Nuggets in Denver in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, 121-113 ... Damian Lillard scored a game-high 39 points (12-21 FG, 4-12 3-PT, 11-13 FT) to go with three rebounds, six assists and one steal ... Enes Kanter added 26 points on 11-of-14 shooting (4-4 FT) while hauling in seven rebounds ... Rodney Hood led all players in scoring o the bench, finishing with 17 points (5-10 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 4-4 FT) to go with two rebounds and one assist in 18 minutes ... CJ McCollum added 16 points (7-17 FG, 2-7 3-PT), four rebounds, three assists and one block ... The Nuggets scored 23 points o of 18 Portland turnovers while the Trail Blazers scored six points on 13 Denver turnovers ... Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 37 points (11-18 FG, 3-5 3-PT, 12-12 FT), nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks ... Jamal Murray tacked on 23 points (8-15 FG, 3-6 3-PT, 4-4 FT), eight assists and two steals. Western Conference Semifinals, Game #2 - Portland 97, Denver 90 — May 1, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado Portland evened its best-of-seven series against the Nuggets at 1-1 with a 97-90 victory in Denver ... The Trail Blazers held the Nuggets to 12 points in the second quarter, matching the lowest-scoring second quarter by a Portland opponent in franchise postseason history ... Denver’s 35 points in the first half were the fewest points scored in the  first half of a playoff game by a Portland opponent since May 9, 2000 ... CJ McCollum scored a team-high 20 points (8-20 FG, 3-7 3-PT, 1-2 FT) to go with six rebounds and six assists ... Rodney Hood scored 15 points o the bench on 5-of-11 shooting (2-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT) ... Enes Kanter had 15 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks ... Al-Farouq Aminu had his first double-double of the postseason, finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds ... Damian Lillard recorded 14 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block ... Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 16 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists. Western Conference Semifinals, Game #3 - Portland 140, Denver 137 (4OT) — May 3, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon Portland and Denver played the second quadruple-overtime game in NBA Playoffs history, with the Trail Blazers earning a 140-137 victory at Moda Center ... CJ McCollum matched his postseason career-high with 41 points (16-39 FG, 4-11 3-PT, 5-6 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block ... McCollum scored 28 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods ... McCollum played 60 minutes, setting the franchise record for minutes played in a postseason game ... Rodney Hood scored a postseason career-high 19 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 5-7 FT) to go with two rebounds and one assist ...<doc-sep>The Western Conference semifinals have been a tense, emotional and drama-filled affair, so it’s fitting the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers will decide the series in a Game 7 on Sunday afternoon. “I expect a real chippy game,” Monte Morris told Nuggets.com. “High energy, do or die to go play Golden State – everyone wants that opportunity. So, I feel like this is going to be an exciting, high-paced game that we have to get up for. “ With Denver playing in its second-consecutive Game 7, the eighth-youngest playoff team in NBA history might have a rare advantage in experience over its opponents. The last time the Nuggets played in a Game 7 was almost three weeks ago whereas the Blazers haven’t played in one since 2003. READ MORE For the Nuggets to advance to their first Western Conference Finals since 2009, the team will need to get back to the formula that was effective in Games 4 and 5 —strong defense and low-post play. Here are the keys to Game 7: Keep feeding Millsap: Paul Millsap had a rare tough night in Game 6. He finished with 17 points, but shot 4 of 15 from the field. Prior to that game, he was playing some of the best basketball of his 13-year career. The 34-year-old was averaging 19 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks on 54.5 percent shooting in the opening five games of the second round. Aside from Game 6, Millsap has been particularly effective as a starter who is staggered off to feature as a go-to-guy when the bench comes in. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone is confident Millsap will be at his best come Game 7. “Paul Millsap got great looks [in Game 6], so I’m not giving anyone credit [in slowing him down],” Malone said after Saturday’s practice. “I think Paul got the same looks he got in Games 4 and 5, he just didn’t knock them down. I have no doubt, that he’ll be able to convert and finish those shots tomorrow.” Millsap converts 1.08 points per post up. That rates better than the best offense in the league at 1.15. The Nuggets will need another big game from their veteran leader. Get defense back on track: The Nuggets’ defense is a big reason why they were able to take a 3-2 lead in the semifinals, but things unraveled in Game 6 as the Blazers hit 15 threes on 33 attempts. That can’t happen in Game 7. In the opening five games of the series, Denver had done a superb job of slowing down Damian Lillard as the guard was hitting only 25.7 percent of his three-pointers. In Game 6, Lillard did a good job of extending his range – five of his six threes were made from 27-feet or farther. The Nuggets will have to extend their defense to ensure that they have a man on him at all times. Get more from the bench: The biggest difference in this series has been the performances of the both teams’ benches. Portland reserve Rodney Hood is enjoying a breakout second round against the Nuggets as he’s averaging 16.2 points and shooting 60.4 percent from the floor – including 57.9 percent from downtown. In the first round against the Thunder, Hood averaged only 3.2 points on 27.3 percent shooting. Malone stressed the Nuggets can’t afford to allow Hood to have another big game against his team. “Rodney Hood, for me, is the MVP of the series,” Malone said. “Damian Lillard is a superstar, you know what you’re going to get with him. CJ McCollum is a potential All-Star, so you know what you’re getting from him…We have to do a better job of guarding [Hood] and accounting for him when he comes in.” READ MORE Hood isn’t the only issue as Denver needs a big offensive game from its bench. Outside of three big performances from Will Barton in Games 3, 4 and 5, the rest of the reserves have been relatively quiet. The bench play was pivotal for the Nuggets in their first round against the Spurs and they’ll need some similar to that level of performance in Game 7.<doc-sep>
The Portland Trail Blazers, led by Damian Lillard, meet the Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic, in the deciding Game 7 of their best of seven NBA Western Conference Semifinals playoffs series on Sunday, May 12, 2019 (5/12/19) at Pepsi Center in Denver Colorado. The winner advances to meet the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. Here’s what you need to know: Who: Trails Blazers vs. Nuggets What: NBA Playoffs, Western Conference When: Sunday, May 12, 2019 Where: Pepsi Center, Denver Time: 3:30 p.m. EDT TV: ABC Livestream: fuboTV (free trial), WatchESPN Line: Nuggets -5.5 BOTTOM LINE: The Portland Trail Blazers visit the Denver Nuggets in game seven of the Western Conference second round. The Trail Blazers won the previous meeting 119-108. Damian Lillard scored 32 points to help lead Portland to the victory and Nikola Jokic recorded 29 points in the loss for Denver. The Nuggets have gone 34-7 at home. Denver averages 13.4 turnovers per game and is 26-14 when they have fewer turnovers than their opponents. The Trail Blazers are 6-10 in division play. Portland is third in the NBA with 48 rebounds per game. Jusuf Nurkic leads the Trail Blazers with 10.4. TOP PERFORMERS: Jamal Murray leads the Nuggets with 2.0 made 3-pointers and averages 18.2 points while shooting 36.7 percent from beyond the arc. Jokic has averaged 27 points and collected 13.4 rebounds while shooting 51.9 percent over the last 10 games for Denver. Enes Kanter ranks second on the Trail Blazers with 8.6 rebounds and averages 13.1 points. Lillard has averaged 29.8 points and added 4.3 rebounds while shooting 44.3 percent over the last 10 games for Portland. DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Trail Blazers: Averaging 112.2 points, 45.9 rebounds, 18.5 assists, 7.1 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.1 points on 43.7 percent shooting. Nuggets: Averaging 110.2 points, 47.5 rebounds, 24.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.8 points on 45.2 percent shooting. Nuggets Injuries: Michael Porter Jr.: out (back). Trail Blazers Injuries: Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (leg fracture). (The AP contributed to this report.)