Blazers cruise past Nuggets in Game 4, tie series 2-2

If Portland was becoming too reliant on star Damian Lillard, the Trail Blazers corrected that in a big way on Saturday.

From CJ McCollum to Norman Powell, from Carmelo Anthony to Jusuf Nurkic, the Blazers received contributions across their roster as they trounced the Denver Nuggets 115-95 in Game 4, evening their first-round playoff series at 2-2.

And even more impressive for Portland, the victory came despite a quiet offensive night from Lillard, who scored just 10 points on 1-for-10 shooting.

The series now boils down to a best-of-three situation, with Game 5 coming on Tuesday in Denver.

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Let's take a look at how the Blazers got it done in Game 4.

Key performer: Norman Powell

The Blazers sent Gary Trent to Toronto at the trade deadline in exchange for Powell, a trade that was seen as curious by many at the time.

But while Powell's regular-season numbers took a dip after he changed uniforms (from 19.6 to 17.0 PPG), he provided exactly what the Blazers were looking for on Saturday.

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Powell, a 28-year-old who is a career 38% 3-point shooter, led all scorers with 29 points in Game 4. He made 11 of his 15 field-goal attempts, including all four of his 3-point shots. That more than compensated for Lillard's off night, as the Blazers shot 50% from the floor and 36.4% from 3 as a team.

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Turning point: Halftime

Portland already held a 10-point lead at the half, but whatever coach Terry Stotts told his team during the break worked. The Blazers came out of the locker room breathing fire, quickly ending any notion of a Nuggets comeback.

McCollum started the second half with a 3-point play, Jurkic stole a pass by Austin Rivers, followed by four straight points from Powell. A 3-pointer by Robert Covington completed Portland's 10-0 run to start the third quarter and gave Portland a 20-point lead.

Denver attempted to make some runs in the third, but the Blazers were on a roll and their 36-19 edge in the quarter gave them a 93-66 lead entering the final period.

Wild card: Mixing it up against Nikola Jokic

Jokic, the NBA's likely MVP this season, presents a massive problem for any defense to handle. His craftiness around the basket, ability to shoot from long range and savvy passing ability make him a difficult puzzle to solve.

And while the Blazers didn't necessarily stop Jokic, who scored 16 points, they did mix things up effectively enough to hold him to a 7-for-18 effort from the field.

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On the other end, Nurkic made Jokic work on defense, scoring 17 points.

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Twitter's take:

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Did you know?

… that Saturday was Anthony's birthday? The Blazers crowd did.

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Also, this game was crucial for Portland, as the Blazers have never rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series. The last time these teams met in the postseason (2019 West semis), the series was tied 2-2, and Portland went on to win 4-3.

What's next:

Denver will host Portland in Game 5 on Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET, NBA TV

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