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The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers will face off in their final game of the NBA 2020-21 regular season at Moda Center on Sunday.
The contest could be a potential preview of a first-round playoff matchup between the two sides if the Nuggets and the Trail Blazers hold on to their current seeding in the Western Conference. The Nuggets are third, while the Blazers are sixth at the time of writing.
Match Details
Fixture: Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers | NBA Season 2020-21
Date & Time: Sunday, May 16th; 9:00 PM ET (Monday, 17th May; 6:30 AM IST)
Venue: Moda Center, Portland, OR.
Denver Nuggets Preview
The Denver Nuggets have been on a good run of form lately, winning their last three games on the trot. They beat the Detroit Pistons 104-91 in their previous outing.
The Denver Nuggets rested multiple stars for the game, including Aaron Gordon and Facundo Campazzo. Meanwhile, Nikola Jokic continued to play and shone once again with a triple-double to his name. The MVP award frontrunner tallied 20 points, 11 assists and 15 rebounds on the night.
Markus Howard, who made his first start of the season, played a solid cameo, scoring 20 points.
The Denver Nuggets looked in control for most of the match. The win helped them overtake the LA Clippers to claim the third place in the West, as mentioned earlier.
Key Player - Facundo Campazzo
Facundo Campazzo has stepped up to the occasion and how! The Argentine has provided cover for Jamal Murray, playing as the starting point guard. He has been phenomenal for the Denver Nuggets at both ends of the floor. Campazzo has averaged 11.4 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per contest in his last nine games.
He will be up against Damian Lillard in the match against the Portland Trail Blazers. Campazzo's main task would be to keep Lillard as quiet as possible throughout the game. If the Nuggets' guard does manage to succeed, Michael Malone's side will have a solid chance of winning this tie.
Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Facundo Campazzo | Shooting Guard - Austin Rivers | Small Forward - Michael Porter Jr. | Power Forward - Aaron Gordon | Center - Nikola Jokic.
Portland Trail Blazers Preview
The Portland Trail Blazers will have a lot at stake in this game as a loss could increase their chances of falling into the play-in tournament. Their recent defeat to the Phoenix Suns has also put a dent in their hopes of qualifying as a top-six side.
The Portland Trail Blazers gave up a one-point lead in the dying moments of the game as Robert Covington missed a pair of free throws. Devin Booker, who got a pair of free throws at the other end two seconds later, converted and sealed a 117-118 win for the Suns.
Damian Lillard had 41 points, while CJ McCollum tallied 27, but the series of events in the dying minutes saw their efforts go in vain. The Blazers' bench misfired big time as well, accumulating just 14 points in the game.
Key Player - Jusuf Nurkic
Jusuf Nurkic will have his hands full when he goes head to head with Nikola Jokic inside the paint. While it won't be an easy task to shut Jokic out completely, just limiting him to making lesser plays and shots could swing the tie in favor of the Trail Blazers massively.
Nurkic, being the starting center, will have to be up to the mark for the same. The Portland Trail Blazers' big is thus the key player for the game.
Predicted Lineup
Point Guard - Damian Lillard | Shooting Guard - CJ McCollum | Small Forward - Norman Powell | Power Forward - Robert Covington | Center - Jusuf Nurkic.
Nuggets vs Blazers Prediction
Since the Portland Trail Blazers have more at stake, they could be the more motivated side heading into this contest. They are likely to put pressure on the Denver Nuggets early on in the match and are the favorites to win this tie.
However, the Nuggets are a gritty team and could be lethal down the stretch, something the Blazers will have to be careful about.
Where to watch the Nuggets vs Blazers game?
Local coverage of the game between the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers will be available on NBC Sports Northwest and Altitude. Fans can also stream the game live on NBA League Pass.
