Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers
· National Basketball AssociationJokic's 17th triple-double of the season helps Nuggets top Trail Blazers 127-112
Collin Gillespie made all four of his 3-point attempts off the bench for the Nuggets and finished with 18 points.
“In this league, you have to win the games you’re supposed to win on paper,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “And I think overall, we’ve done an outstanding job of beating the teams that are below .500. ... We have to start our playoff push now. Not that we’re going to go 25-0 the rest of the way, but we have to have that mindset.”
Jerami Grant scored 25 points for the Trail Blazers. Deandre Ayton added 22 points and Anfernee Simons had 21.
Portland led by 5 points in the opening minutes, but Denver controlled it most of the way thanks to a sizable shooting disparity. The Nuggets shot 57.3% from the field to the Blazers’ 44.3% and outrebounded Portland 43-31.
“For the most part, I thought we played pretty good,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “That team is better than we are. They’re the world champions.”
UP NEXT
Nuggets: Travel to Golden State to face the Warriors on Sunday.
Trail Blazers: Home against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday.
—
Regular Season Series
DEN leads series 3-0
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 127 - 112 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 127 - 112 |
| 4th 2.0 |  |
Duop Reath offensive rebound | 127 - 110 |
| 4th 2.0 | |
Toumani Camara misses 14-foot two point shot | 127 - 110 |
| 4th 2.0 |  |
Braxton Key defensive rebound | 127 - 112 |
Statistics
 DEN |
 POR |
|
|---|---|---|
| 50-85 | FG | 46-101 |
| 59 | Field Goal % | 46 |
| 13-33 | 3PT | 8-25 |
| 39 | Three Point % | 32 |
| 14-22 | FT | 12-18 |
| 64 | Free Throw % | 67 |
| 45 | Rebounds | 45 |
| 11 | Offensive Rebounds | 19 |
| 34 | Defensive Rebounds | 26 |
| 38 | Assists | 25 |
| 8 | Steals | 11 |
| 6 | Blocks | 2 |
| 12 | Turnovers | 10 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 13 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 15 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 12 |
| 15 | Fast Break Points | 13 |
| 62 | Points in Paint | 66 |
| 17 | Fouls | 17 |
| 22 | Largest Lead | 5 |
Portland Trail Blazers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Kris Murray, F | Day-To-Day | Dec 30 |
| Jerami Grant, F | Out | Dec 30 |
| Matisse Thybulle, G | Out | Dec 29 |
| Scoot Henderson, G | Out | Dec 29 |
| Jrue Holiday, G | Out | Dec 29 |
Denver Nuggets Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Julian Strawther, G | Day-To-Day | Dec 30 |
| Nikola Jokic, C | Out | Dec 30 |
| Aaron Gordon, F | Out | Dec 29 |
| Christian Braun, G | Out | Dec 29 |
| Cameron Johnson, F | Out | Dec 25 |
Game Information
Location: Portland, OR
Attendance: 18,898 · Capacity:
2025-26 Northwest Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oklahoma City |
28 | 5 | .848 | - | W2 |
 Denver |
22 | 10 | .688 | 5.5 | L2 |
 Minnesota |
21 | 12 | .636 | 7 | W1 |
 Portland |
14 | 19 | .424 | 14 | W2 |
 Utah |
12 | 20 | .375 | 15.5 | L1 |
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