The Portland Trail Blazers survived a physical, rough-and-tumble Game 2 on Wednesday night, ultimately defeating the Denver Nuggets 97-90 to even their second-round playoff series at a game apiece. The game was the polar opposite of Game 1’s shoot-out, and Portland was able to step up their defensive effort for the hard-fought victory. CJ McCollum led all scorers with 20 points, while Nikola Jokic was the high-man for Denver with 16.
Here were a few key takeaways from tonight’s game:
- Bend but don’t break. The Blazers withstood a flurry of rallies from the Nuggets throughout the second half, yet never surrendered a double-digit halftime lead.