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Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers: Prediction and Betting Tips
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Denver Nuggets
It wasn’t the start the Nuggets were expecting as they lost the first game of the best-of-seven series and lost their home-court advantage. This is the Nuggets’ second defeat in a row against the Blazers after losing the final game of the regular season against their visitors. Nikola Jokic had 34 points accompanied by 16 rebounds, but the big Serb didn’t have enough help from his teammates.
In the absence of Jamal Murray, the Nuggets lacked someone who could take the pressure off Jokic on the offensive side. Coach Michael Malone’s side struggled from the arc in game 1, scoring just 30% of their shots (11 of 36). Michael Porter Jr. made just one of ten attempts from the three-point range. Denver need to improve their long-distance shooting if they want to get level in the second game.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers beat the odds and the Nuggets as the number six seed of the Western Conference took a crucial lead in the series. As usual Damien Lillard was the best player for his team with 34 points and 13 assists. Head coach Terry Stotts’ team had a very good shooting game. The Blazers had a 47% shooting average and missed just one free throw the whole match (18 of 19).
It was a close game in the first two quarters. In the third quarter though, the Blazers offense took control of the game scoring 38 points and maintaining their lead in the fourth quarter. The Blazers’ defense allowed 109 points for Denver to score, better than their 114 point average per game during the regular season. That will be key for Stotts’ team as they aim to take a 2-0 lead.
Key Stats
- Denver average 115 points per game
- Portland average 116 points per game
- Denver have a 25-11 home record
- Portland have a 20-16 away record
Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Nuggets Prediction
Denver lost the first match despite being the favorites to win. They couldn’t stop Lillard McCollum and Anthony from scoring in double digits and paid the price of not being able to defend the Blazers’ long-range shooting.
The Nuggets need to improve their long-range shooting themselves if they want to bring more variation to their offense. Lillard and Anthony are two of the best scorers in the NBA and we think they will be hard to stop by the Nuggets.
Both of these teams have good scorers in their team and we expect a high-scoring game.
Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Nuggets Betting Tips
Over 221 Total Points 1.50 at bet365
Nikola Jokic to score over 30.5 points 1.86 at bet365
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