Portland has passed through Denver as if it didn’t exist. Without Damian Lillard available, the Blazers were a toy in the hands of the Colorado, who immediately gained an advantage and ended up defeating their rival by a resounding 124-95.
The season has not started well for the Oregonians, but even in that context, games like last night do a lot of damage. After six minutes of the meeting they had scored only two points … It is only a piece of information, but one that did not bode well. So it was. They could not directly compete for victory. Chauncey Billups expressed his disappointment at the conclusion of the match.
“I don’t think we have come with the mentality to compete in this match. This is the team that beat us in the playoffs last year and we have come and we haven’t even competed in the first quarter. I am a bit disappointed with the effort. You can’t control the shots that will go in or not, but there was no fight. If we continue to play in this way, there will come a time when I have to say ‘something is not working’, and therefore I will have to change some things. It is also true that I see some persistent things that I am not very happy with almost every night, ”explains the head coach.
Without Lillard on the court, suffering from abdominal tendinopathy, CJ McCollum was the Blazers’ leading scorer with 21 points, while Anfernee Simmons contributed 16. Nothing helped to keep up with the Nuggets.
With Nikola Jokic at the helm of the operations (they were 26 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists), the Colorado team dominated the game from start to finish, and that they could not count on Will Barton, who was left out due to back discomfort . The 18 points from rookie Bones Hyland’s bench did shine. Michael Malone once again highlighted Jokic’s dominance of the game.
“Nikola knows that the further we get into the games, the more he will have to take charge of his scoring and also be that player of reference for us. He will read the game and whether one situation or another arises, he will face it and make you pay according to the game plan that has occurred to him ».
(Photograph by Justin Tafoya / Getty Images)
