INDIVIDUAL ➢ Nikola Jokic registered 29 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and a playoff career-high four blocks in 42 minutes ... Jokic’s 12th playoff double-double tonight leads the NBA in total double-doubles in the playoffs this year ... Jokic is just the second player (Joel Embiid) in the playoffs this year with 29+ points, 13+ rebounds and 4+ blocks. ➢ Jamal Murray posted 17 points (9-9 FT), six rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes ... Murray is just the third player (Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant) in the playoffs this season with 17+ points, 6+ rebounds, 5+ assists and shooting 100% (9-9) from the line (9+ attempts). ➢ Gary Harris finished with 15 points (7-11 FG), a playoff career-high tying six rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes ... Harris scored 15+ points in six of the Nugget’s 14 playoff games this season (4-2) ... This is Harris’s second playoff game with 15+ points and 6+ rebounds. ➢ CJ McCollum tallied 37 points (17-29 FG), a playoff career-high nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 45 minutes ... McCollum is the sixth player in the playoffs this season with 37+ points and 9+ rebounds ... McCollum is the first Trail Blazer to put up those numbers in the playoffs since LaMarcus Aldridge (46 pts, 18 reb) on 4/20/14 @ HOU. ➢ Damian Lillard registered 13 points, a playoff career-high 10 rebounds and playoff season-highs in assists (8) and steals (3) in 45 minutes ... This is fourth time in the playoffs a Trail Blazer has had 13+ points, 10+ rebounds and 8+ assists.
TEAM ➢ Denver loses the series 4-3 to Portland, finishing up their best season since 2008-09 ... Denver’s all-time playoff record falls to 9-8 against Portland ... This was Denver’s fifth game seven in franchise history, falling to 2-3. ❖ Denver appeared in 14 playoff games this season, more than the last seven years combined. ➢ The Nuggets dished out a playoff season-low 15 assists ... Denver has lost six straight playoff games when handing out 15 or fewer assists in a game. ❖ The Nuggets allowed a playoff season-low 16 assists, the fewest assists Denver has allowed since 4/27/11 @ OKC (16). ➢ Denver scored just 96 points, going 1-3 in the playoffs and 4-8 in the regular season when scoring 99 points or fewer. ➢ The Nuggets dropped their first playoff game of the year when leading at halftime (4-1) and when leading after the third quarter (6-1). ➢ Denver finished with a .371 FG%, the 11th time in franchise history (1-10) and the second time (0-2) this series the Nuggets have shot .371 or worse from the field in the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets Head Coach Michael Malone: On the game: “I just want to start out by congratulating the Blazers on a hell of a series. Congrats to [Head Coach] Terry Stotts and that team, a lot of good players and more importantly, a lot of good people on their roster. Happy for their success. Hope Rodney Hood is okay. For us, tonight is the end of the season, but I’m not going to allow this Game 7 loss to take away from a magical year. It doesn’t feel that way right now, but when I reflect and when our players reflect on what we were able to accomplish – hell of a year. I couldn’t ask for anything more from our guys.” On a tough end to Jamal Murray’s strong playoff debut: “The future is so bright, you heard me say it all postseason. I love the moment. I love where we’re at, but more importantly, I love where we’re going and who we’re going there with. That’s such a big point of what we’re doing here. Just spending time with Mr. Kroenke (Team Owner Stanley Kroenke) and Josh (President and Governor Josh Kroenke). Mr. K said it – we won 61 games this year. It’s been over 10 years since we’ve won that many games. Jamal [Murray] will be a huge part of that future. Going into the offseason, having a game like he had, going 4-of-18 from the field, that’s going to be a great motivation tool for him. That’s a conversation we had quite often throughout the season and now, 14 playoff games, great players bring it every night and they produce every night. He didn’t have a great night but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. We wouldn’t be here without Jamal Murray’s efforts all season long. And then, the other hand, CJ McCollum showed why they have one of the best backcourts in the NBA, put his team on his back, and made big play after big play. Jamal is going to be a better player because of this experience.” On what he will remember about the 2018-19 Denver Nuggets when he looks back years from now: “Good question, maybe I’ll answer it a couple years from now. What I will remember is truly how selfless they were. A lot of people talk about being selfless and it’s a fancy word up on a wall, looks cool. For us, it was something we actually tried to live. I think there were countless examples of individuals being selfless throughout the season. I look at Isaiah Thomas and Juancho [Hernangomez] up the whole game, those guys are dying to play, they’re not playing but they’re supporting their teammates. That’s what will stand out. I got Nikola Jokic in there taking blame for the loss. It’s not his fault, this is a group effort. I think the cumulative effect of 14 playoff games and us asking him to do as much as we asked him to do finally took its toll on him tonight. This group really did play for each other, not just with each other. They cared about each other on the court and off the court, and the best teams I’ve ever been a part of have had that kind of a chemistry and love for one another. That’s a special group.” On whether cold shooting night made the difference today: “You have to make shots to get the assists, obviously, to oversimplify it. We made two threes tonight. I thought the game came down to 21 second-chance points and us missing 11 free-throws. Those are two huge areas right there. We talked about coming into tonight, in our three losses to Portland, they were averaging 18 second-chance points per game. They get 21 tonight. Then you leave 11 points at the foul line. Those were two really big factors in why we lost, in my opinion.”
Denver Nuggets Guard Jamal Murray: On what turned the game around: “It was a fight. We threw the first punch and they hit back, and they won the game by four. It was one of those where it’s a close game, and it’s frustrating.” On the Nuggets late comeback: “I didn’t have the game I was supposed to have. Even when Dame [Damian Lillard] wasn’t having the game he was supposed to have, that’s when we’ve got to take advantage, and we didn’t tonight. So, it’s just tough.” On the statement the Nuggets made advancing to two Game 7s: “You want to look at it in a positive way, but it’s tough when you know you can beat a team and you lose. It’s just tough.”
Denver Nuggets Center Nikola Jokic: On his emotions right now: “I am sad, disappointed, just because it was a tough game and we had our chances, they had their chances and they just used it.” On if this loss will serve as a motivator for next year: “Not to me, to be honest. Loses are not motivational for me. I think we have a really good group of guys and yes, last year we missed the playoffs by one game. Portland lost to New Orleans last year too, so maybe that is their motivation, but you never know. I am just asking for the guys to come back better next year and do bigger things.” On taking the blame for this loss: “They look at me as a leader. They look at me as their best player and yeah, I missed that one free throw at the end. I missed a free throw in the Portland game that lead to 4 overtime and I feel responsible just because I missed a lot of shots. I was supposed to make some of those. It is a physical style game.” On not being able to finish the series after leading 3-2: “We had a great opportunity. Even the game in Portland, we were there the whole game. We fought, it was physical, it was a really tough game, a lot of missed shots. They scored a lot over offensive rebounds. We missed a lot of free throws. That is the easiest thing we can say.” On what he takes from his first playoffs: “When we started this season and training camp, we said let’s make the playoffs and then we were playing really good and we were not in the last spot the last couple of weeks and we said let’s do something bigger. We had homecourt advantage. We beat San Antonio in seven games, it was a really tough series against Portland today. It’s improvement for us. This is our first time being here and hopefully next year we’re going to be better.”
Denver Nuggets Forward Paul Millsap: On how far young Nuggets team has come: “It’s an unbelievable stretch, amazing run from guys who haven’t been there before. They learned fast, they picked up on what the playoffs were about early, and as a veteran in this locker room, I’m so proud of all the younger guys in here for the challenges that they went through and they fought through. They learned so quickly to get to this point. I’m proud of everybody in this locker room.” On second-chance points and the difference in the game: “You can blame it on that. Sometimes, the ball just doesn’t bounce your way, and give them credit. CJ McCollum did an amazing job down the stretch. At the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to in a tight game – making shots at the end, and making plays, and he was the one down the stretch to make plays.” On if this game stings more than other playoff losses: “It’s a tough one. We envisioned ourselves going to the next round, and that could have been our fault. Not staying in the present moment, not being here today. We had a lot of let downs, a lot of lapses on defense. Offensively, we could have done better, but we learned. We have guys who are going to learn. They’ll look back on this game, look back on this film, and see where we went wrong, and what we can do to get better, and next time we’ll be better.” On if sustaining the early momentum was difficult: “I was talking to the guys and trying to calm everybody down, and sometimes you can get too high. I think, we started off really high, really high, and just couldn’t maintain that. Especially in a playoff series like this, emotions are going to be high, you may need that energy down the stretch, and I don’t think we had it. We just didn’t have it for whatever reason, but like I said, give them credit. They played an amazing game, coming back from 17, and just making it tough on us.” On being a young team handling the emotional swings of Game 7: “That’s a part of basketball and maturing in basketball. You’re going to have those swings. You’re going to have that, and the calmer team, the team that stays with it, is normally the team that comes out on top. Like I said, that’s all part of learning, and all part of getting better. It’s all part of learning the mental game of basketball, and like I said, guys in this locker room, they’re fast learners in there. They’re learners.”
Denver Nuggets Forward Torrey Craig: On what allowed Portland to comeback from 17-point first half deficit: “Allowing them to get offensive rebounds, some of their players made some big shots to keep them in it. They were able to cut the lead down just playing with more effort. It seemed like they were playing like they wanted it more for spurts. We weren’t consistent enough to keep the lead.” On confidence level in tight game down the stretch: “I was confident were going to pull it out. I thought we fought hard down the stretch trying to squeeze out a win. You got to give credit to them. They’re a good team and some of their players stepped up and made plays.” On what he will remember most about being a part of the 2018-19 Denver Nuggets: “Just the chemistry we had, the fun we had, going on winning streaks, trying to bring Denver basketball back, just enjoying the whole process, the fans, the community, all of that.”
Portland Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts: On CJ McCollum down the stretch: “Obviously, we try and give him the ball in places and have his teammates in the right spot but he wanted the ball and he has the ability to make things happen with it. Obviously, we went down to him in the stretch and he made some big plays. Spacing is important.” On how the Trail Blazers stayed afloat after being down early: “Stay with it. Our offense was really poor the entire first half. Just keep trusting each other. Trust was the biggest thing. We have a lot of guys who are really confident and they do trust each other and generally, we find a way. Like I said, the first half offense, it wasn’t just the first quarter, it was not pretty. You just know it’s a long game, it’s a Game 7, and we had no choice but to keep fighting.” On his emotions after getting to the conference finals: “Before I answer that question, I do need to say I thought [Nuggets Head Coach] Mike Malone and his staff did an outstanding job. The Denver Nuggets had an outstanding season, no one saw that coming. With what they did in the regular season, winning close games, winning the division, [Nikola] Jokic is an amazing player, they’re a young team, they’re going to have a lot of success moving forward. They have my upmost respect on not only what they did in the regular season, but what they did in the playoffs. So, I would be remiss if I didn’t say that. My emotions – you know, this is arguably the biggest win that we’ve had in the franchise for a long time. To be a part of it, to do it the way we did, I’m thrilled. I’m really happy for our guys. As a coach, I think you experience the joy of the team, having different guys come in. Rodney [Hood] go down, Evan [Turner] come in, he scored more points tonight then he scored in the whole series, probably. Just to do it in different ways Meyers [Leonard] coming out. It’s such a group thing and as a coach, that’s what you appreciate the most.” On his message after calling a timeout in the second quarter after being down by 17: “Actually, they’re engaged. There wasn’t going to be any quit, I don’t think they ever stopped believing. I didn’t really have to say much. I don’t remember what I said, but I didn’t have to say much because it was still early enough in the game where we found ways to come out of those holes. It was just about regrouping. Again, I could talk about the trust and trust and competing are the two biggest things for us.” On Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in the playoffs: “It’s a luxury to have two guys like that who can find ways to score in different ways. CJ does it one way, Dame (Damian Lillard) does it in another. On a night where Dame struggled to shoot the ball, CJ came up big. That’s what being a part of a team. Mostly, one of them is going to have something going so you kind of count on that and it was CJ tonight. It’s a luxury to have two guys who can score like that.”
Portland Trail Blazers Guard/Forward Evan Turner and Center Enes Kanter: On matching up with Nikola Jokic: EK: “Obviously he’s an unbelievable player. I’m shocked how he plays with that tired looking body. Just being out there, he can pop, he can roll, he can pretty much do everything. He’s like a quarterback so if you don’t make him feel uncomfortable, he can pick you apart. I think the whole series, but especially tonight, we did a good job on him.” On contributing tonight after only having 7 points in first 11 postseason games: ET: “I always just stay ready for when I need to. Throughout the games leading up to this, just showing that I could defend a bigger player, shoot when I have open shots and that’s pretty much it. Things play out the way they are supposed to and just me being a pro and me being in the league for so long (I’ve been) fortunate to be in these types of situations already throughout my career. I kind of new that in pressure time, I’d be fine.” On the team’s mindset being down 17 and being down at halftime: ET: “I think when we went down 17 with seven minutes left, I think in that timeout we just all huddled together and just said we need to get closer, it’s a long game and we haven’t even played well yet and everything is going to work out. That was legit it. Then we went into halftime down nine and it was just like Game 6. After the first quarter things started going our way.” On the team’s character and resolve to come back in the series: ET: “I just think we are a pretty tough team. We always stay together, we stay confident. I think we’ve always been a confident group. Once again, everybody talks about the playoffs over the last two years and I think we’ve paid our dues to really get to this point, to battle through. We had adversity this whole year with Paul going down, with [Jusuf] Nurkic going down and [Video Coordinator] Jon Yim being in a car accident. I think once again, pressure can bust pipes or make diamonds so we never thought we were going to lose or anything like that.” On fasting for Ramadan: EK: “I am actually holding up pretty good. I was scared because it was Denver, because of the altitude I thought it would be worse but I’m feeling pretty good. I’m thinking about, not even the win right now, but drinking water. I’m very thirsty but I’ve been talking to a lot of pros, especially Hakeem [Olajuwon]. I texted him and he gave me lots of advice and I appreciate him a lot. I think my teammates gave me a lot of confidence and I think the game of basketball is mental over physical so I think I’ll be fine for this stretch.” On if the Trail Blazers were the fresher team in the fourth quarter: EK: “I think so. I think we were the fresher team. The whole season we did a good job staying in shape and I think our bench is just so deep. Everybody can bring so much to the table so whoever is in is just giving one hundred percent. [They] play hard and play smart and the most important thing, they are playing together.” On CJ McCollum making a big block at the end of the game: ET: “I was kind of like around half court or whatever so I was picking up speed so when he blocked it I was like, oh (shoot) I have to get down there and help or else I would be on film, so I kind of knew he was going to do it. He’s a superb athlete and like I said, he was battling all day and that was just a dude doing whatever it took and luckily that was a big play in the game and that helped us.”
Portland Trail Blazers Guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum : On CJ McCollum’s game: CM: “I thought I was aggressive. Before the game, my brother texted me and told me not to settle. He told me to get to the midrange, get to the floater, get to the rim as much as possible so I just tried to be aggressive. I thought I played a pretty solid game. I thought I missed a few plays. Had a pump-fake, I got the guy in the air and I shot a jumper into him. That cost us two points on that possession. I missed a lot of left-hand layups. I think I shot one too many threes. But besides that, I think I played pretty well. I wanted to empty the clip tonight and I thought I did that.” On what the win shows about Portland’s culture: DL: “I think it speaks to the character of our organization, what we’ve become. Obviously, we had the roster turnover four years ago and everyone was quick to shoot us down and count us out. At that point, we didn't know for sure what direction we were going to go in but, we definitely leaned on the culture we wanted to create. We leaned on that – doing things the right way, working hard, being about each other and not being about one guy or two guys. I think we really built that up from the jump. To have that, it takes everybody. Not just the players; you have to have the coaches, training staff, front office, security, everybody who is with us there every day, the PR staff, everybody we see every day. Everybody is invested in what we created. I think when we come out on top in a tough game like this, in a tough series like this, you see it in everybody's celebration. Everybody is excited because we all played a part in it. You don't just create this type of thing with just the players, it takes everybody to be all-in and that's what it was tonight. On their mentality while being down 17 in the first half: CM: "I think the biggest thing for us was to just take it one possession at a time. I think we came out a little tight, defensively. Things were just too easy for them, they were getting transition baskets, dunks, drop-offs. We just needed to make it a little more difficult. I think as we settled in we realized that it's a really long game. They were at home and if we could get the game close we thought they would tighten up. Our biggest thing was one stop at a time and one possession at a time and I think as the game went on we did a much better job of defending." On chase down block in the 4th quarter: CM: “I think it was turnover that led to a run-out and they passed it ahead. Seth [Curry] did a good job over undercutting, cutting off his lane and having to make him go over his head and he put it right there for me and I just went and got it, 'Bron style'. Shout out to my guy Bron [Lebron James]. It was a mini-version of LeBron's block on Iggy [Andre Iguodala] a few years. Definitely didn't get up as high but it was a cool play. It's something we will remember forever, I might have to get a picture of that one.”
I want a picture of the block and underneath it is that close up of CJ and it simply says: "Did I do that?"
