Western Conference stars will be on full display Tuesday night as Damien Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers (21-22) take on Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets (30-13). The Nuggets will host this one at Ball Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.
Portland has won back-to-back games coming into this one, including a 140-123 win over Dallas on Sunday. In the victory, Lillard had a game-high 40 points, while three others scored 20 points apiece for the Trail Blazers.
As for Denver, they have won six in a row and eight of their last 10. They beat the Orlando Magic in their last contest 119-116. Jokic had a triple-double in the victory with 17 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds.
The Nuggets are the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -300 to win, while the Trail Blazers’ moneyline sits at +245. The spread features Portland as 7.5-point underdogs (-110), and the over/under for total points is 233 (-110).
Portland Looking For Major Road Upset
At 21-22, the Portland Trail Blazers are hoping to make a push in the Western Conference, where they sit nine games out of first place. Still, sitting just two games behind the fifth-place team, they are hoping to make a push, starting with a road upset on Tuesday.
Leading Portland’s 17th-ranked offense (113.3 points per game) is superstar Damien Lillard. In 31 games, he is averaging 28.8 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Other contributors for the Trail Blazers include Anfernee Simmons (21.9 points, 4 assists, 2.9 rebounds), Jerami Grant (21.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists), and Jusuf Nurkic (14.7 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists).
Defensively, Portland ranks 13th overall, allowing opponents 112.6 points per game (111.8 on the road).
Nuggets Look To Improve Dominant Home Record
The Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies stand atop the Western Conference standings with identical 30-13 records. Part of the success for the Nuggets has stemmed from their dominant play at home, where they are 19-3 on the year.
Furthermore, the Nuggets have excelled against their own conference, where they are 22-9 this year.
The 27-year-old Nikola Jokic is putting up another MVP-caliber season. He currently leads the team in points (24.7 per game), rebounds (10.9), assists (9.8), and steals (1.4). From the field, he is also shooting a dominant 62%.
His contributions have helped Denver have the seventh-best offense in the league, averaging 117 points per game (119.8 at home).
In addition to Jokic, the Nuggets have six others averaging double digits, led by Jamaal Murray (18.6 points, 5.4 assists, 4 rebounds), Aaron Gordon (16.7 points, 6.8 rebounds), and Michael Porter Jr (16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds).
The Nuggets rank 14th in scoring defense, allowing 113.1 points per game (108.6 at home).
Take The Trail Blazers And The Points
The Nuggets have definitely been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, but it is hard to ignore what Portland has done recently. In their last game against Dallas, they were red-hot from the field, shooting 50.6%.
If they continue their hot shooting, they should be able to stay in this game. With Denver’s depth and amazing play at home, it might be hard for Portland to pull off the upset straight up, but there is a lot of value in taking them and the 7.5 points (-110) on the spread.
