![](Feb 05, 2020DENVER The combination of Gary Harris and Torrey Craig was too much for Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers to overcome.Not on offense, but defense.Harris and Craig hounded the hot-shooting Lillard all evening and never let him get on track as the Denver Nuggets routed Portland 127-99 on Tuesday.“Everybody was connected,” said Nikola Jokic, who finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists in just three quarters. "Everybody had the same goal - to stop Dame." This wasn't the same Lillard the Nuggets have seen in the past, though. This was a guy who had been shooting out of this world.Until Tuesday, that is, when Denver finally contained Lillard, ending his string of eight straight games with at least 30 points.Lillard was held to 21 on 8 of 23 from the floor, predominantly with Harris and Craig taking turns shadowing him.Well, that and the 7-foot Jokic backing them up.“I didn't have as many clean looks, but I still feel like I had some looks that I could have made," Lillard said. "I thought they got away with a lot, too, just being physical.”Stopping Lillard has proved a tough assignment these days. He averaged 48.8 points over his last six games entering Tuesday. What's more, he was shooting 57% from 3-point range during that streak. In this game, he was 1 of 6.“We did a good job collectively ... of not letting him get easy shots and get into a rhythm,” said Craig, who finished with seven points. “We always play pretty good defense against him as a team.”Lillard had nine assists. He didn't play in the fourth quarter.“Tonight just wasn't our night,” Lillard said. "They made shots. They executed better than we did. We just weren't at our best.”The Nuggets pulled away in the second quarter when they outscored the Blazers by a 27-10 margin. The 10 points were a season low for a quarter by Portland. The 38 points at halftime were also a low mark for the season.Denver led by 34 in the third, and Jokic was given the final quarter off. The big man had two chances to pick up his 10th assist before exiting late in the third, but Craig missed a left-handed layup and Malik Beasley a wide-open 3-pointer. Jokic has 10 triple-doubles this season.The short-handed Nuggets were without Paul Millsap (bruised left knee), Mason Plumlee (right foot) and Michael Porter Jr. (right ankle). Jamal Murray returned to the lineup after missing 10 games with a sprained left ankle. He finished with 20 points.“Felt good," Murray said, even if his ankle was tender after the game. “Felt really good.”TIP-INSTrail Blazers: CJ McCollum was called for a flagrant-1 foul when he hip-checked Craig on a drive in the second quarter. McCollum had 20 points. ... F Nassir Little was helped off the court after rolling his left ankle with 37.9 seconds remaining.Nuggets: F Jerami Grant hobbled off the floor in the fourth quarter after turning his right ankle. Grant finished with 17 points. ... It was Denver's seventh straight home win over Portland. ... Denver improved to 8-0 against Northwest Division rivals this seasonTRADE DEADLINENuggets coach Michael Malone doesn't give Thursday's trade deadline much thought. He leaves that to president of basketball operations Tim Connelly & Co."If you read my business card, it says head coach," Malone cracked. “I love where our group is at and the potential we have. That being said, this is a business.”JAMES FOR JANUARYLakers forward LeBron James was named the NBA Western Conference player of the month for January after averaging 25.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 10.4 assists. Lillard's numbers in the month were equally as impressive: 34.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 8.4 assists."It does surprise me," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said when told James won the award for January. “Dame had a great run at the end of the month.”UP NEXTTrail Blazers: Host San Antonio on Thursday. The teams have split two meetings this season.Nuggets: At Utah on Wednesday. The Jazz have dropped four straight.---More NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Feb 03, 2020Damian Lillard cemented his place among the NBA elite when his long 3-pointer eliminated the Oklahoma City Thunder in last year's playoffs.The Portland Trail Blazer's guard is now adding to that legacy with one of the most prolific scoring streaks in league history. He capped a six-game onslaught with a 51-point performance in a win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. He has three games of 50 points or more in his last six and is averaging 48.8 points and 10.2 assists per game in that stretch.It's obvious Lillard will be the focus of the Denver Nuggets' defense when Portland is in town for a Northwest Division matchup on Tuesday night.Lillard has had good games against the Nuggets but he is coming into the third meeting between the teams playing at another level. In five of the last six games he has scored 47 points or more, and the only game he didn't he notched his first career triple-double with 36 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds."I don't think we've ever seen anything like this," Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony told after Saturday's game. "We've seen great basketball, we've seen guys score the basketball in different fashions, but what he's doing, we haven't seen that in a long time. I'm just happy to be a part of it, be a fan of it." Lillard started this scorching stretch with a career-high 61 points against Golden State on Jan. 20. He has also hit 49 of his 3-pointers in the six games, and he has helped Portland win four in a row to climb within four games of .500 with 32 games remaining.He and his Portland teammates have yet to figure out how to beat Denver this season, however. The Nuggets have taken the first two games, including a win at the Moda Center in Portland on opening night. Tuesday will be the third of four between the teams and the last one in Denver.The Nuggets come in limping after a disappointing overtime loss at Detroit after leading by 21 early in the first quarter on Sunday. Denver got guard Gary Harris back from personal leave but Jamal Murray (left ankle), Paul Millsap (left knee) and Mason Plumlee (right foot) have missed multiple games in a row.Add to that the injury Michael Porter Jr. suffered in Milwaukee on Friday night and the Nuggets were digging deep into their bench -- and still nearly came away with their third straight win. Porter's status for Tuesday's game is not known.Denver has gotten some big minutes from Malik Beasley, PJ Dozier and Juancho Hernangomez to help keep the team atop the Northwest Division."At the end of the day, we feel like we're one of the best teams in the league," Nuggets forward Will Barton said. "Top-tier teams don't make excuses, chasing what we're trying to chase. You always expect to win, in our mind, no matter what anyone else thinks." Portland has gotten a combined three games out of centers Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins this season while Rodney Hood, who played well in the seven-game series win over Denver last spring, ruptured his left Achilles tendon in December.--Field Level Media
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