The Denver Nuggets took home a dominating effort against the Portland Trail Blazers in their second leg of a back-to-back on the road, claiming their highest point total of the season in a commanding 54-point blowout, 157-103.
It was a night for the Nuggets that nearly every key rotational player on the floor had a notable impact on the offensive end. Everyone in the starting five had double-digit points, Nikola Jokic led the way with 32 points, and Tim Hardaway Jr. was the biggest standout within the second unit following his own 19-point outing on 63.6% shooting from the field.
As to why the Nuggets’ offense was so dominant against Portland? Hardaway Jr. had one clear takeaway for how it happened: defense.
“I think it started with the defense,” Hardaway Jr. said postgame. “Defense, definitely just making sure that we got stops. We knew that all five guys on their team crash the glass.”
“So, we just need to do a great job of just boxing them out, knowing that if we get the ball, we get easy runouts, easy leakouts, and easy baskets.”