![]() ![]() Jamal Murray had 14 points, but was 4 of 18 from the floor. Jokic led Denver with 29 points, but missed 15 shots. 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. But two of those buckets were crucial 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. 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. “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.” 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. 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 7-foot All-Star. 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. ![]() The Blazers were down 48-39 at halftime and trailed by just a point head into the fourth quarter. “I didn’t think they ever stopped believing. “There wasn’t going to be any quit,” Stotts said. But Blazers coach Terry Stotts called a timeout with 7:26 left in the second quarter and his team began chipping away. 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. Turner corralled the rebound when Nikola Jokic’s desperation 3-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 Trail Blazers advanced to face the two-time defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, beginning Tuesday night in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/John Leyba) John LeybaĭENVER – 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.Įvan Turner, who scored just four points in the first six games of the series, added 14 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. (AP Photo/John Leyba) John Leybaĭenver Nuggets guard Monte Morris, front, drives to the rim past Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, back left, forward Zach Collins and guard Seth Curry in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) David Zalubowskiĭenver Nuggets guard Gary Harris, center, goes up for a basket between Portland Trail Blazers guards Damian Lillard, back, and CJ McCollum in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, left, drives past Denver Nuggets forward Torrey Craig in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) David Zalubowski Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum stands at center court waiting for the start of the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Leyba) John Leybaĭenver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray dives into the fans in the courtside seats to save a loose ball in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Leyba) John Leybaĭenver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, goes up for a basket Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter, left, in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Leyba) John Leybaĭenver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, works the ball inside to the rim as Portland Trail Blazers forward Maurice Harkless defends in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum, right, drives past Denver Nuggets forward Mason Plumlee in the first half of Game 7 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series Sunday, May 12, 2019, in Denver. ![]()
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