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Trail Blazers Game Notes: Denver Nuggets (35-25) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (25-35)

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (25-35) VS. DENVER NUGGETS (35-25)

Sunday, February 27 • 6:00 p.m. (Pacific) • Moda Center

Portland, Oregon

SERIES HISTORY

ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 101-89

PORTLAND HOME: Trail Blazers lead, 71-24

DENVER HOME: Nuggets lead, 65-29

LAST PORTLAND WIN: 119-100, 11/23/21 (Por.)

LAST DENVER WIN: 140-108, 1/13/22 (Den.)

CURRENT WIN STREAK: One (Den.)

SERIES NOTES

• Saturday's game is the fourth and final matchup between the Trail Blazers and Nuggets this season and the second game at Moda Center.

LAST MEETING: Portland lost to Denver 140-108 despite all five Trail Blazers starters scoring in double figures. Will Barton led Denver with 21 points, four boards and two assists while Nikole Jokic contributed 20 points and eight rebounds. Ben McLemore led Portland with 18 points, four assists and two steals.

• Both teams clean up on the glass and limit second chance opportunities , Denver leads the NBA in opponent second chance points, allowing 11.2 per game while Portland ranks second with 11.7.

• The Trail Blazers enter the matchup coming off two days of rest while Denver will be on the second half of a back-to-back, the Nuggets are 3-7 on the year in the second leg of a back-to-back, including 3-4 on the road.

• Denver is 4-8 on the year against the Northwest division, the only division in which they have a record below .500 against.

• It will be a good matchup beyond the arc, Denver allows a 33.8 3-PT %, eighth best in the league, while Portland knocks down 13.5 per game, sixth most in the NBA.

• Josh Hart dropped 16 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal vs. Denver on Jan. 28 as a member of the Pelicans. In his last five outings against the Nuggets, Hart has averaged 13.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

• In his last five games against Denver, Justise Winslow has averaged 5.2 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 15.9 minutes.

• Nikola Jokic has averaged 27.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.4 assists in his last five outtings against Portland, recording a double-double in one of those matchups.

• Will Barton is averaging 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists in his last five games against the Trail Blazers.

NEWS AND NOTES

ANT IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Simons tallied his 30th career start on Feb. 14 at Milwaukee, nailing seven three-pointers to set the NBA record for most three-pointers made in a player's first 30 Starts with 113. The 22-year old Simons is establishing himself as one of the most prolific young shooters in NBA history.

WINNING IN MEMPHIS: Portland entered the All Star Break on a four-game winning streak, tied for their longest of the season, after a 123-119 road win against the Grizzlies on Feb. 16. Anfernee Simons tallied his seventh career and third straight 30-plus point performance while Jusuf Nurkic recorded his fifth career 30-plus game, finishing with 32, one shy of his career high. Josh Hart scored 20-plus for a third consecutive game, all with the Trail Blazers.

STARTING HOT: The Trail Blazers jumped out to an early lead in Memphis on Feb. 16, entering halftime with a 68-57 lead, the 12th time they've held a double-digit lead at half, Portland is 12-0 in those games.

SPREADING THE LOVE: On Feb. 14 at Milwaukee, all five Portland starters recorded at least four assists, marking the first time since Nov. 13, 2003 that the Trail Blazers have accomplished the feat. The Charlotte Hornets are the only other team in the NBA to do so this season. Anfernee Simons led the team with six assists while Trendon Watford also contributed five off the bench.

LAST FIVE GAMES

Game #60 - Golden State 132, Portland 95 — February 24, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland fell to Golden State 132-95 ... Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers with 24 points (7-14 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 6-6 FT), three rebounds and three assists ... Justise Winslow added 14 points (5-11 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 2-4 FT) with two boards and two assists ... Josh Hart contributed 12 points (5-11 FG, 0-5 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with six rebounds, four assists and a steal ... Brandon Williams set career-highs with 12 points (4-9 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 3-3 FT) and two rebounds ... CJ Elleby added five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal ... Trendon Watford scored nine points (2-5 FG, 5-6 FT), one rebound, two assists and a steal ... Greg Brown III dropped eight points (2-5 FG, 5-6 FT), one rebound, one assist, one steal and two blocks ... Elijah Hughes scored five points with one rebound and one steal ... Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both dropped 18 points while Jonathan Kuminga added 17 points off the bench.

Game #59 - Portland 123, Memphis 119 — February 16, 2022, FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee

Portland defeated Memphis 123-119 behind 30-plus point performances from both Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkić ... The Bosnian Beast led the way with 32 points (12-17 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 7-10 FT) with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block ... Simons dropped 31 points (11-18 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 4-4 FT), his fourth straight game with five-plus three-pointers, plus three boards, six assists and a steal ... Josh Hart recorded his third straight game with 20-plus points, dropping 22 with seven rebounds, six assists and a steal ... Justise Winslow added 16 points, seven boards, three assists and a steal ... Ben McLemore added 14 off the bench with two rebounds and an assist in 23 minutes ... CJ Elleby contribued five rebounds, one point and one block ... Ja Morant led the Grizzlies with 44 points (11-20 FG, 1-6 3-PT, 21-25 FT), five boards, 11 assists and a block ... Desmond Bane added 30 points and five boards.

Game #58 - Portland 122, Milwaukee 107 — February 14, 2022, Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee Wisconsin

Portland took down the defending champs 122-107 on the road ... All five Trail Blazers starters recorded at least four assists, the first time the team has done so since Nov. 13, 2003 ... Anfernee Simons continued his hot streak with 31 points (12-24 FG, 7-16 3-PT), two boards, six assists and one steal ... Josh Hart dropped 27 points (10-16 FG, 5-9 3-PT, 2-2 FT) with seven rebounds, five assists, two blocks and one steal ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied his seventh straight double-double with 23 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and one steal ... Justise Winslow recorded a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block ... CJ Elleby added 10 points, 4 boards and four assists ... Trendon Watford drained the first three-pointer of his career and finished with nine points, 10 boards, five assists and one steal ... Jrue Holiday led the Bucks with 23 points and six assists.

Game #57 - Portland 112, New York 103 — February 12, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland defeated New York 112-103 at Moda Center behind a 35-point fourth quarter for the Trail Blazers in which they held the Knicks to 11 points ... Anfernee Simons tallied his 21st career game with five-plus three-pointers, finishing with 30 points for his fifth career 30-plus effort, also contributing eight assists and five rebounds ... Josh Hart dropped 23 points in his Portland debut with two assists and one board ... Jusus Nurkić grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds to go with 12 points and six assists for his 29th double-double on the season ... Justise Winslow added 14 points, six assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block ... Ben McLemore dropped 17 points off the bench with five rebounds, two assists and a steal ... Julius Randle led New York with 28 points, 16 rebounds and six assists ... Kemba Walker added 23 points and Quentin Grimes contributed 20 points.

Game #56 - Portland 107, L.A. Lakers 105 — February 9, 2022, Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

Portland defeated the Lakers 107-105 at Moda Center, behind a tough defensive effort that forced 21 turnovers and tallied 11 steals ... Anfernee Simons led the scoring effort with 29 points, knocking down five three-pointers for the 14th time this season ... Jusuf Nurkić tallied another double-double, finishing with 19 points and 12 rebounds ... Justise Winslow scored 11 points with eight rebounds, three assists and four steals ... Greg Brown III dropped 11 points, two rebounds and a block off the bench ... Dennis Smith Jr. became the ninth player in league history to record 11 assists and six steals off the bench ... CJ Elleby scored eight points with eight rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 43 minutes ... Ben McLemore dropped eight points with two rebounds, three steals and a block ... LeBron James led the Lakers with 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

INJURY NOTES

For the Trail Blazers, Greg Brown III (non-COVID illness) and Justise Winslow (right Achilles; soreness) are questionable; Eric Bledsoe (left Achilles; tendinopathy), Joe Ingles (left knee recovery), Damian Lillard (core muscle recovery), Nassir Little (left shoulder recovery), Didi Louzada (left knee recovery) and Jusuf Nurkić (left foot; plantar fasciitis) are out for Sunday’s game against Denver.

The Nuggets, playing on the second of a back-to-back, have yet to release an injury report for tonight’s game.

BROADCAST NOTES

Sunday’s game can be seen locally on ROOT SPORTS Plus with Kevin Calabro, Lamar Hurd and Brooke Olzendam calling the action. ROOT SPORTS Plus is free for all ROOT SPORTS subscribers, varying by provider. Visit trailblazers.com/watch for more information. On the radio side, Travis Demers, Michael Holton and Jay Allen will have the call on Rip City Radio 620 AM and on all of the stations of the Deschutes Brewery Trail Blazers Radio Network.

ARENA NOTES

The Trail Blazers and Rose Quarter are requiring all guests ages 12 and up attending any event at the Rose Quarter, including Winterhawks games, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of either a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the event or a negative lab-based rapid test taken within 48 hours of the event. At-home tests will not be accepted.

Kids under age 12 can come to events without proof of vaccination or proof of a negative test unless sitting within 15 feet of the court and benches at a Trail Blazers game. All guests must wear a mask at all times while on the Rose Quarter campus.

Click here for more information on Moda Center’s health and safety protocols.