Denver Nuggets Host Portland Trail Blazers

The Denver Nuggets return home to the Pepsi Center on Sunday to host their Northwest Division rivals, the Portland Trail Blazers, in a Sunday tilt.

The Denver Nuggets suffered a heartbreaking defeat on Saturday night at Oracle Arena to the Golden State Warriors. Denver trailed early by as many as 25 points, but came back to take the reigning NBA champions into overtime, losing by a final score of 111-108. Despite the tumultuous nature of the season so far, and the crushing defeat of last night’s loss, the fact that the Denver Nuggets were able to mount a furious rally and take Golden State to the wire is encouraging, and provides optimism for the rest of the season.

Next: Denver Nuggets Make Late Push, Fall Short Against Warriors 111-108

The Denver Nuggets most recently fell to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday at the Moda Center by a score of 110-103. The Nuggets rallied to cut a large deficit, but ultimately fell short on the road. Will Barton led the Denver Nuggets in scoring last week against the Blazers, totaling 31 points and making 4 three-pointers. Gary Harris also had a good game, recording 19 points.

C.J. McCollum was the difference Portland, scoring 29 points and 4 assists in Damian Lillard‘s absence, while Allen Crabbe also added 20. The season series between the Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trail Blazers is tied 1-1.

More from Mile High Maniac

The Denver Nuggets have now lost five straight games, albeit to top tier opponents. Four of these five consecutive losses have come at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and last night against the NBA best Golden State Warriors.Sunday’s game at the Pepsi Center against the Portland Trail Blazers continues a brutal stretch of the Denver Nuggets schedule that has seen them play six games in the past 8 days.

Last night against the Warriors in Oakland, California, the Denver Nuggets got much need reinforcements after struggling with a litany of injuries so far this season. Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari returned to the Denver Nuggets’ lineup, leading all Denver scorers 24 points in his return. The Nuggets also got center Jusuf Nurkic on Saturday, after the Denver center missed the entirety of the season thus far.

Unfortunately, the Denver Nuggets added another casualty last night, as forward Kenneth Faried suffered a scary neck injury in overtime and was carted off the court. Thankfully Faried gave an encouraging update today on his status, showing that hopefully the injury was not as serious as it initially appeared. Team doctors indicate that Faried is not suffering any neurological damage, but no timetable for his return is yet available.