The Portland Trail Blazers face off against the Denver Nuggets tonight at the Moda Center with tipoff at 7:30 p.m. PT on ESPN. Before the action gets underway, how are you feeling about this Game 6 matchup? Hopeless? Confident? Nervous? At peace? Do you think the Blazers can even up this series with a win at home? We’re taking the pulse of Rip City to find out how the fans are feeling about the pivotal showdown. For Game 6 between the Nuggets and Blazers, how are you feeling? Can Portland turn things on in front of their hometown crowd, 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 6 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>The Portland Trail Blazers weren't ready for their season to end on Thursday night. With their backs against the wall and facing elimination in Game 6, the Blazers responded in a major way and pulled out a 119-108 victory in front of their home crowd. With the win, the Blazers forced a do-or-die Game 7 situation that is set for Sunday in Denver. Portland's vaunted backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum led the way for the Blazers, as the duo combined for 62 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The Blazers also got major contributions from their bench as Rodney Hood and Zach Collins combined to score 39 points off the pine. Nikola Jokic led the way for the Nuggets, as he finished the game with 29 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, while Jamal Murray added 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Paul Millsap chipped in with 17 points. Winning on the road in the postseason isn't easy, and closing out an opponent on the road is especially difficult. The Nuggets learned that the hard way on Thursday night. Here are a few takeaways from Portland's clutch Game 6 win: Lillard looked like his usual self Dame Lillard hadn't necessarily been held in check over the course of the first five games of the series with the Nuggets, but it's fair to say that he wasn't playing his best ball. In Game 6, he bounced back and looked like the All-NBA player to which we have grown accustomed -- the same guy who sunk the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round with one of the coldest daggers in NBA history. Lillard finished with a game-high 32 points, shot 6-for-13 from deep, and also added five assists. It was his best game of the series, and also his 15th career 30-point performance in the postseason. Blazers got a big bench boost Rodney Hood provided the Trail Blazers with some much-needed firepower off of the bench, as he went for 20 points and hit several big shots in Game 6. Portland can rely on consistent production from Lillard and McCollum, but at times this postseason they have searched for a third option, especially with Jusuf Nurkic sidelined. When they get another guy to step up and score 20-plus like Hood did on Thursday night, they become that much more difficult to defend. In addition to Hood, Zach Collins also provided the Blazers with some solid production off of the bench as he added 14 points and four rebounds of his own. The Blazers won the bench battle against the Nuggets big-time in Game 6, and that was a big part of the reason that they were able to walk away with a win. Denver's starters need some support On the other side of the coin … Denver got an all-around effort from their first five on Thursday night, as all five starters scored in double-digits and combined to score 95 points. The bad thing is that Denver scored just 108 points as a team, meaning that they got just 13 points of production off of the bench. Hood and Collins each single-handedly outscored Denver's entire bench, which tipped things in Portland's favor. In Game 7, Denver is going to need more from their reserves. Recap of Game 6 updates Below you can re-live the Game 6 action between the Nuggets and Blazers. If you are unable to view the live application below, please click here. No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 3 Portland Trail Blazers How to watch Game 7 Date: Sunday, May 9 Sunday, May 9 Time: TBD TBD Location: Pepsi Center-- Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center-- Denver, Colorado TV channel: TBD TBD Live stats: GameTracker GameTracker Online streaming: TBD TBD Odds: Will update when available TV listings All games will air on ESPN, ABC, TNT and NBA TV during the postseason. Games on TNT and NBA TV can be streamed via fuboTV (try it for free). Odds and Analysis Check Sportsline's NBA pick sheet for all your daily odds.<doc-sep>The term "must-win" gets thrown around in sports far more often than the literal interpretation allows. While there are plenty of "should-win," "need-to-win," and "things become difficult if they don't win" scenarios, games in which a team truly must win in order to keep their season alive are relatively rare. The Portland Trail Blazers have one of those games tonight at the Moda Center. After dropping the last two games of the Western Conference Semifinals versus the two-seed Denver Nuggets, the most recent being a blowout loss at the Pepsi Center Monday night, the three-seed Trail Blazers must win Game 6 Thursday night at the Moda Center to keep their hopes of advancing to the Western Conference Finals alive. "We’ve been in tough situations before and we’ve figured out a way to make stuff happen," said Trail Blazers forward Moe Harkless. "We know what we are capable of against this team. We know we are capable of winning here against this team, so we just have to focus on Thursday and really come into the game with the mindset of, we are playing for our season. That’s the only way to put it, so we just have to come into the game and play like that." Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 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 TBD TBD *if necessary WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS RESULTS 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 ... Hood scored seven of his points in the  nal 1:45 of the fourth overtime ... Damian Lillard had 28 points, six rebounds and eight assists ... Enes Kanter had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Maurice Harkless had 15 points and 10 rebounds ... Nikola Jokic recorded 33 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, one steal and two blocks in 65 minutes. Western Conference Semifinals, Game #4 - Denver 116, Portland 112 — May 5, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon Denver evened the best-of-seven series against the Trail Blazers at 2-2 with a 116-112 victory at Moda Center ... The Trail Blazers scored a postseason-high 63 points in the first half while taking a 63-57 halftime lead ... Portland scored a postseason-high 35 points in the fourth quarter ... CJ McCollum paced the Trail Blazers with 29 points (10-20 FG, 4-8 3-PT, 5-6 FT) to go with five rebounds, one assist and one steal ... Damian Lillard had 28 points (9-22 FG, 2-7 3-PT, 8-11 FT), three rebounds, seven assists and two steals ... Lillard scored 15 points in the fourth quarter ... Al-Farouq Aminu added 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks ... Seth Curry scored a postseason career-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting (4-6 4-PT) to go with three rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes ... Enes Kanter had five points and a team-high 10 rebounds ... Nikola Jokic had his second straight triple-double, finishing with 21 points (8-15 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 4-4 FT), 12 rebounds and 11 assists to go with two steals ... Jamal Murray had a team-high 34 points (10-20 FG, 3-7 3-PT, 11-11 FT) to go with five rebounds and four assists. Western Conference Semifinals, Game #5 - Denver 124, Portland 98 — May 7, Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado The Trail Blazers lost to the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center, 124-98, giving Denver a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals ... The Nuggets outrebounded Portland, 62-44, and outscored them in the paint, 66-44 ... Portland committed a postseason-low six turnovers while the Nuggets turned the ball over seven times ... Damian Lillard led Portland with 22 points (9-21 FG, 2-9 3-PT, 2-5 FT) to go with six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block ... CJ McCollum was the only other Port-land starter to reach double figures, finishing with 12 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and one block ... Zach Collins scored a postseason career-high 14 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 3-4 FT) in 21 minutes o the bench ... Collins added three rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks ... Rodney Hood added 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting ... Meyers Leonard had nine points on 3-of-7 shooting (3-6 3-PT) ... Nikola Jokic paced Denver with 25 points, 19 rebounds and six assists. SEASON SERIES NOTES • Denver won the season series against Portland in 2018-19, 3-1. All four games were decided by single digits.<doc-sep>
The Portland Trail Blazers host the Denver Nuggets Thursday night at the Moda Center in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. The Nuggets lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. Here are the details: What: Blazers vs. Nuggets, 7:30 p.m. TV channel: ESPN Listen: Radio on KPOJ 620 AM in the Portland area Watch live stream online: Watch TNT and the TNT app or try a free trial of fuboTV. Also, you might try Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Dish, Hulu, Sling THE SKINNY The Nuggets steamrolled the Blazers 124-98 Tuesday night in Game 5 at the Pepsi Center, winning their second consecutive game and taking a 3-2 lead in the series. ... Denver stormed to a 9-0 lead to start the game and pushed it to as many as 31 points in the third quarter, breezing to an easy victory and moving within one game of the Western Conference Finals. ... Nikola Jokic finished with 25 points, 19 rebounds and six assists, Paul Millsap scored 24 points and Jamal Murray added 18 points and nine assists for the Nuggets. ... The Blazers shot just 37 percent from the field, including 27 percent from three-point range, and were outrebounded 62-44. ... The Blazers’ starting lineup sat the entire fourth quarter. ... Damian Lillard led the Blazers with 22 points and six rebounds, but he made just 9 of 21 shots, including 2 of 9 three-pointers. Rodney Hood added 14 points off the bench. It was the fourth double-digit scoring outing of the series for Hood, who is averaging 14.4 points in the five games. ... Zach Collins finished with a playoff career-high 14 points in the loss and is shooting 56.3 percent from the field in the series. ... The Nuggets held a 3-2 lead in the first round against the San Antonio Spurs and lost Game 6 by 17 points, before winning Game 7 in Denver. ... The Nuggets’ 26-point victory in Game 5 against the Blazers was the fifth-largest playoff win in franchise history and largest since April 2009 vs. New Orleans. INJURIES For the Blazers, Nurkic (left leg) is out. For the Nuggets, Michael Porter Jr. (lower back) is out. GAME 5 REWIND Rapid Reaction: Nuggets rout Blazers, take 3-2 series lead. After Mile High meltdown, Blazers face biggest hurdle of season: Elimination Canzano: Trail Blazers leave Denver with ugly loss, amid questions GAME 4 REWIND Rapid Reaction: Nuggets beat Blazers 116-112, even series 2-2. Resilient Nuggets win Game 4, put Blazers and Damian Lillard on hot seat Canzano: Trail Blazers need to find Damian Lillard to regain hold in series Nuggets’ ‘toughness’ leads to Game 4 win over the Blazers to regain home court advantage GAME 3 REWIND Rapid Reaction: Blazers beat Nuggets 140-137 in four overtimes Blazers outlast Nuggets in 'One of the best games I’ve been a part of’ Canzano: Blazers four-OT victory hits Nuggets like a mental sledgehammer Nuggets rue missed chances during Game 3 loss Notable numbers, records from 4-OT thriller Game 3 in photos GAME 2 REWIND Rapid Reaction: Blazers beat Nuggets 97-90 The Blazers’ Game 2 victory was inspired by an ailing coach on ‘bowtie Wednesday’ Canzano: Trail Blazers got what they came for in Denver Moe Harkless is questionable for Game 3 with a sprained left ankle GAME 1 REWIND Rapid Reaction: Nuggets beat Blazers 121-113 Nikola Jokic, Nuggets’ style too much for Blazers in Game 1 Canzano: No excuses, Blazers got beat by sloppiness ... and the Joker Listen to the Rip City Report podcast As Blazers adjust to Nuggets, biggest move could come between ears Canzano: Life moving fast for Blazers and coach Terry Stotts — Joe Freeman | jfreeman@oregonian.com | 503-294-5183 | @BlazerFreeman | Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox