This was one that Portland really needed.
The Portland Trail Blazers looked great for the vast majority of the night against the Denver Nuggets on Monday in a game Portland was not expected to win, but badly needed. Holding a 16-point lead with less than nine minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Blazers allowed the Nuggets to claw all the way back and force overtime, where Denver completely outplayed Portland and won 137-132.
The loss dropped Portland to 40-39, while the LA Clippers remained 40-38, making the race for the No. 8 seed even tougher with only three games left on the schedule. Portland’s remaining games are at San Antonio, home against the Clippers and back home against Sacramento.
The significance of this loss is obvious. Portland had a real chance to put itself in the driver’s seat for that No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, which would make the Play-In path much easier. Instead, the Blazers now head into the final stretch needing a surprise win over the Spurs and very likely a win over the Clippers to have a real chance to climb back into that spot. Because of how tight the standings are, that Clippers game looms especially large, but to truly control their own destiny, it is starting to feel like the Spurs game has become just as important.
What really ended up hurting Portland was Toumani Camara fouling out. Camara was excellent, finishing with 30 points in 35 minutes while going 10-of-16 from the floor and 8-of-13 from three, but everything fell apart when he exited.
Portland got 26 points and seven assists from Deni Avdija, 19 points from Jrue Holiday, 18 points from Donovan Clingan, 18 from Scoot Henderson and 14 from Matisse Thybulle. The offense was clicking for a good portion of the night, but once Camara fouled out, Portland looked far less settled on both ends.
That was especially true late. The Blazers were outscored 38-24 in the fourth quarter, then 12-7 in overtime. For most of the night, Portland looked poised to steal one of its biggest wins of the season. Instead, the final frame and overtime turned into a collapse, and it could prove costly in the standings.
From here, the Blazers get one day of rest before traveling to San Antonio. With only three games left and no margin for error, the road to the No. 8 seed just got much more difficult.