PORTLAND, Ore. — The Trail Blazers beat the Nuggets 97-90 on Wednesday night in Denver to even their second-round series against Denver at one game apiece.
The series shifts to Portland for the next two games. Game 3 is Friday night.
CJ McCollum led the Blazers with 20 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Portland got contributions up and down the roster on a night Damian Lillard was held to 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting.
Lillard praised his teammates after the game.
"It was a grind-it-out kind of game. In those games, you've got to be the tougher team, you've got to want it more, and you've got to have a few plays go your way," Lillard said. "I thought CJ had a few big plays at the end, Enes [Kanter] had a few big plays, and Chief competing down there in the paint with those big guys. Rodney [Hood] getting in there and competing. ... In this kind of game, that's what you need, a tough group effort."
Enes Kanter had 15 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. He said Lillard, despite a poor shooting night, did a good job getting his teammates involved.
"Teams can't guard him with one man. They were sending double teams, triple teams," Kanter said. "That's when I said, 'He's making himself better, but at the same time, he's making everybody else better around him.' He was passing the ball, really active on defense. He's been unbelievable, man."
Rodney Hood had 15 points in 27 minutes off the bench, including a big 3-pointer with 2:09 left in the game that pushed the Blazers' lead back to 10 at 94-84. Al-Farouq Aminu had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Zach Collins added 10 points and six rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench.
BOX SCORE: Trail Blazers 97, Nuggets 90
"I thought we had a lot of good contributions at both ends of the floor," Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said. "Chief [Aminu] set the tone with his defense on Millsap early. Enes [Kanter] continues to do the things that Enes does for us. Rodney Hood was really good off the bench. Zach Collins, his contribution at the defensive end, affecting shots, really made a difference. ... Our defensive focus for most of the game was the difference."
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: Trail Blazers beat Nuggets 97-90
The Blazers' defense was solid all game, holding the Nuggets to 34.7% shooting from the field and 20.7% from the 3-point line. Denver also missed 10 free throws. Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who had 37 points in Game 1, was held to 16 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He also had 14 rebounds and seven assists.
After the game, Jokic said it was an odd game.
"It was a weird game," he said. "[The Blazers] didn't even play that well, honestly. They can play better than that, so it was kind of a weird game."
Portland led by as many as 1 in the third quarter, and then held off a fourth-quarter rally by the Nuggets. Denver got within five points in the final minute, 95-90, thanks to second-chance opportunities. Denver had 14 offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter and 23 for the game.
The Nuggets, however, only outscored the Blazers 20-17 in second-chance opportunities, despite a 23-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Lillard credited the Blazers' defense for clamping down on the Nuggets' extra possessions.
"Even when they kept getting tips and getting second and third opportunities, they were having to work for it and getting shots contested down there, so we were able to get stops," Lillard said.
Stotts said the Blazers were fortunate the offensive rebounds didn't cost them the game.
"The good news is they had all of those offensive rebounds but they didn't convert a lot," Stotts said. "They were 8 for 24 on second-chance points. We were fortunate we came away not hurt as badly as we could have been on the offensive boards."
Harkless injures ankle
Maurice Harkless left the game in the first half with an ankle injury and didn't return. After the game, Harkless said he's day-to-day and couldn't commit to playing in Game 3. He said it was a bad sprain with significant swelling.
"I'm sorry that Moe twisted his ankle. I thought he got us off to a good start with his defense on [Jamal] Murray," Stotts said.
Banged-up Nuggets
Nuggets starting forward Torrey Craig left the game in the second quarter with a bloodied nose after his face collided with teammate Monte Morris' foot.
Craig returned in the third quarter with a face mask. He finished with seven points and four rebounds in 20 minutes.
"I think Torrey Craig is the unsung hero of the game," Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said. "He's got some [guts]. He's got some toughness."
Denver starting shooting guard Jamal Murray was nursing his right thigh during much of the fourth quarter, and spent some time on stationary bike trying to loosen it up. He scored 15 points but made only 6 of 18 shots, including 2 of 8 3-pointers.
Fourth-quarter scuffle
Late in the game, Kanter and Murray were assessed double technicals after a scuffle at midcourt.
Tempers flared after Jokic pushed Kanter, who collided with Craig with 43.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter after a made free throw.
Bow ties
Stotts and his assistants wore bow ties Wednesday night in honor of Jon Yim, the team's video coordinator and player development coach who was seriously injured in an auto accident last week that left him hospitalized with a broken leg and collapsed lung.
"That's a cool gesture," Harkless said. "We all wish he was here. We're all praying for him. We feel him. He's a big part of our team still. We'll see him when we get home."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Series schedule
Best-of-7 series tied 1-1; all times Pacific; x=if necessary
Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers
- Game 1 (at DEN): Nuggets 121, Trail Blazers 113 (box score)
- Game 2 (at DEN): Trail Blazers 97, Nuggets 90 (box score)
- Game 3 (at POR): Friday, 7:30 p.m., ESPN
- Game 4 (at POR): Sunday, May 5, 4 p.m., TNT
- x-Game 5 (at DEN): Tuesday, May 7, time TBD, TNT
- x-Game 6 (at POR): Thursday, May 9, time TBD, ESPN
- x-Game 7 (at DEN): Sunday, May 12, time TBD, TV TBD
3-on-3 Blazers podcast
Listen to the most recent edition of the 3-on-3 Blazers podcast
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Reporter notebook
KGW's Orlando Sanchez is in Denver, covering Game 2. Here's a look at his tweets before, during and after the game, as well as social media updates from other Portland and Denver media.