Blazers vs. Nuggets: Game 5 preview and how to watch

NBA PLAYOFFS, SECOND ROUND, GAME 5

Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets

Location: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado

Time: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. PT

TV: TNT

Radio: Rip City Radio 620 AM

Live streaming: NBA playoff games can be streamed live with a subscription to the following services: Hulu + Live TV (does not include NBA TV), Playstation Vue (not all plans include NBA TV), DirecTV Now (not all plans include NBA TV), Sling TV (NBA TV is available as an add-on), fuboTV (does not include ESPN), and YouTube TV; the NBA won't be airing any playoff games live on NBA League Pass because all the games will air on national television, but subscribers will have access to the games in the NBA League Pass archive three hours after the games end (subscription required; local games and nationally televised games are blacked out).

Odds: Nuggets favored by 4.5, over/under set at 213.5

Live updates

Tap here to see a live box score and stats once the game begins

Series at a glance

Best-of-7 series tied 2-2; all times Pacific; x=if necessary

(2) Denver Nuggets vs. (3) Portland Trail Blazers

Game 1 (at DEN): Nuggets 121, Trail Blazers 113 (box score)

• Lillard scores 39 but Blazers come up short in Game 1
• Reporter notebook: Jokic outduels Lillard in Game 1 loss
• Blazers flying lifelong fan from NY to Portland for Game 3

Game 2 (at DEN): Trail Blazers 97, Nuggets 90 (box score)

• 'A tough group effort:' Blazers beat Nuggets 97-90 to even series 1-1
• 3-on-3 Blazers: Portland steals home court from Denver
• Blazers coaches wear bow ties to honor coach injured in SUV crash
• Jokic after Blazers' Game 2 win: 'They didn't even play that good'
• Report: No suspensions for players who left bench during Game 2 scrum

Game 3 (at POR): Blazers 140, Nuggets 137, 4OT (box score)

• Lifelong Blazers fan from NYC arrives in Portland for Game 3
• Instant classic: Blazers outlast Nuggets in four overtimes, 140-137
• Kanter's toughness shines through in Blazers 4OT win

Game 4 (at POR): Nuggets 116, Blazers 112 (box score)

• 'Disappointing': Blazers drop game 4 in back-and-forth series with Nuggets
• Reporters notebook: Nuggets beat Blazers 116-112 to even series at 2-2
• Lillard is misfiring from deep, and it's hurting the Blazers
• Kanter observing Ramadan fasting in midst of Blazers' playoff run

Game 5 (at DEN): Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., TNT

Game 6 (at POR): Thursday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

x-Game 7 (at DEN): Sunday, time TBD, ESPN

By the numbers

Rebounding: The Nuggets and Blazers rank 1-2 in the second round of the playoffs in offensive rebounding percentage (the amount of available offensive rebounds a team collects). Denver is snagging 37.3% of available offensive boards and Portland is at 33.8%. That's not a surprise, considering the teams tied for the highest offensive rebounding percentage during the regular season at 30.8%. Conversely, the teams rank last and second-to-last in defensive rebounding percentage in the second round of the playoffs. Denver is seventh at 66.2% and Portland is eighth at 62.7%. Both numbers are well below their regular-season averages. During the regular season, the Nuggets ranked fifth overall in defensive rebounding percentage at 74.4% and the Blazers were eighth at 73.9%.

Scoring: After ranking second in the playoffs in scoring average in the first round at 33.0 points per game, Damian Lillard ranks fifth in the second round with 27.3 points per game. The biggest difference is Lillard's efficiency. In Round 1, he shot 46.1% from the field and 48.1% from the 3-point line, but his second-round percentages are 42.9% and 25.7%, respectively. The next three leading scorers in the second round are playing in this series. Nikola Jokic ranks sixth at 26.8 points per game, and CJ McCollum and Jamal Murray are tied at seventh at 26.5 points per game.

Tight series: Portland and Denver are tied 2-2 in their best-of-seven series. In fact, every second-round series but one is tied 2-2 currently. The only team with an advantage in their series right now is the Milwaukee Bucks, who lead the Celtics three games to one. Here's how tight the Blazers-Nuggets series is:

• Total points: Denver 464, Portland 462
• Total field goals: Denver 169, Blazers 168
• Total 3-pointers: Denver 44, Portland 44
• Total free throws made: Denver 82, Portland 82
• Total turnovers: Portland 57, Denver 53
• Total blocks: Denver 24, Portland 21

Denver does have an edge in offensive rebounds (71 to 52), assists (91 to 79), and steals (36 to 28). Portland has the edge in defensive rebounds (140 to 132), and personal fouls (97 to 90).

Injury report

Nuggets: OUT: Michael Porter Jr. (lower back surgery)

Blazers: OUT: Jusuf Nurkic (left leg)

3-on-3 Blazers podcast

LISTEN: 3-on-3 Blazers: Game 4 was tough but series is far from over

Listen to the most recent edition of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast

• on Apple podcasts/iTunes
• on Podbean
• on SoundCloud
• on Stitcher
• on Google Play

Jared Cowley writes about the Trail Blazers and other topics for KGW.com. He's also the co-host of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast (listen here). You can reach him on Twitter @jaredcowley.