Denver Nuggets 126-95 Portland Trail Blazers: Twitter explodes as Nuggets register dominant team victory | NBA Preseason 2020-21

The Denver Nuggets appeared intent to move past their narrow loss against the Golden State Warriors in their last NBA preseason game as they registered a massive 30-point victory against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

Nikola Jokić ended with figures of 10-8-12 as the Denver Nuggets rushed to an early lead that the Trail Blazers never caught up to.

For the Portland Trail Blazers, Robert Covington scored a team-high of 15 points on a disappointing night where they simply did not get going.

Paul Millsap led the scoring for the Denver Nuggets with 18 points, as P. J. Dozier, Michael Porter Jr., Jamal Murray, Bol Bol and Nikola Jokić all scored in double figures.

For the Portland Trail Blazers, Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum all scored 14 each.

3⃣ takeaways from that big W! #MileHighBasketball https://t.co/pdtix2Mg8F
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 17, 2020

Final 📊

RoCo: 15p/3r
Dame: 14p/4a/3r/2s
Enes: 14p/4r/2a
Melo: 14p/2r/2s
CJ: 13p/4s/3a/2r/2b
DJ: 8p/2r/2b
Nurk: 7p/8r/3a/2s
GTJ: 6p/3a/2r
Harry: 2p/4r
CJ E: 2p
Keljin: 3r
Hoodie: 2a
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 17, 2020

Now that was FUN. #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/9neb5BBsyi
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 17, 2020

Denver Nuggets put up a dominant team performance, crush Portland Trail Blazers by 30 points

The Denver Nuggets appeared sharp and dominant right from the beginning. Will Barton made his long-awaited return from injury and scored 9 points.

The Denver Nuggets put up such an efficient offensive display that the lackluster Portland Trail Blazers team could not keep up for long periods of the game.

Paul Millsap on Will Barton: “I think we know that he’s definitely a starter.”

Said it was “beautiful” to see him run the second unit.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) December 17, 2020

Facundo Campazzo checking in the game for the first time tonight. With Barton back, Facu's minutes probably won't be as big, especially if PJ Dozier remains the backup shooting guard.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) December 17, 2020

And Will Barton — 9 points on 4/7 shooting and 2 assists in the first half — looks healthy and explosive in his first real game in nine months.
— Chris Dempsey (@chrisadempsey) December 17, 2020

Both teams were coming off a defeat, as the Portland Trail Blazers had lost their second preseason game against the Sacramento Kings by 15 points. Now, both teams will be looking at their final preseason game which is scheduled for 19th December.

Really well done by the #Nuggets offensively in the first half. Got to nearly everything they want to in their new offensive philosophy.

34 PITP
20 3-point attempts (6 from the corners)
13 FT attempts (12 makes)

And some fun new Xs & Os to dive into in the coming days.
— Chris Dempsey (@chrisadempsey) December 17, 2020

Nuggets played with urgency, pace and unselfishness. Really strong half capped by a corner 3 from MPJ. (Only thing missing was LeBron as the defender).

22 assists on 25 field goals ... is a real number as Malone would say.

Denver up 69-50 at half.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) December 17, 2020

Porter hits a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 69-50 at halftime.

Am really impressed by the Nuggets offense so far, particularly the pace at which they are playing at. Playing a more up-tempo game could be a big thing for them this season.
— Kendra Andrews (@kendra__andrews) December 17, 2020

The Denver Nuggets went into the game feeling buoyant, as an early lead with some quick Jamal Murray 2s ended up increasing to 17 points by the end of the half (41-24).

The Portland Trail Blazers did find some momentum and had some quick layups in transition.

Point Center pic.twitter.com/X5LaAlDXwJ
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 17, 2020

Take flight, DJ pic.twitter.com/W4dQgVSTD7
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) December 17, 2020

However, the Denver Nuggets' quick offense was too much for them, as Michael Porter Jr. hit a buzzer-beating 3 to end the second quarter with a 69-50 lead for his team.

The story was quite similar for the rest of the game as the third quarter ended with a straight 20-point lead for the Denver Nuggets.

Best. Passing. Big. Man. Of. All. Time. pic.twitter.com/kmsKHp34bY
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 17, 2020

Lmao. He won’t need to. Jokic will lead the team in scoring. Dropped 26 in 19 minutes against the warriors. He usually plays 43 a game.

Murray always could if he wants to.

That happens we will run teams out the building like with Portland tonight. 70 in a half
— Joel Saadvalanche James (@JoelJames15) December 17, 2020

I know Nuggets probably didn't take the first pre-season game vs the Warriors serious, but they're destroying Portland. The idea that Warriors cannot make the playoffs makes no sense to me.
— Gboye (@mcgboye) December 17, 2020

The Portland Trail Blazers did give a final thrust but a late Bol Bol cameo ended up pushing the lead up to 30 points. Bol Bol ended the game with 10 points and 1 assist in 6 minutes.

The Denver Nuggets will go home feeling like every single player on their team had a good match. As you can see, Twitter seems to agree as well:

Bol Bol to Cancar to give the Nuggets a 113-89 lead over Portland.

It is difficult to see many negatives in this game. Denver has controlled this from start to finish and everyone has played well.
— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) December 17, 2020

Holy moly, Portland is not great. The Nuggets have pretty much kept 20 points ahead in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. They look better than the last game, but still super rusty. I have no idea what Portland is doing. Suns beating the Lakers! I'm glad the Knicks got a win.
— Jessica Clarice 🏳️‍⚧️ (@JeSStradiol) December 17, 2020

Hah!!! Nuggets win by 31!! 126-95 Again, it’s only pre-season and there is one more game against Portland on Friday, but the Denver Nuggets look ready for the season! 👌 😃👍🏼 We want revenge against LeBron and the Lakers.. The mission is on!!
— Dave Dymek (@bassman78) December 17, 2020