Portland Trail Blazers (53-29, third in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Denver Nuggets (54-28, second in the Western Conference during the regular season)
Denver; Wednesday, 7 p.m. MDT
WESTERN CONFERENCE SECOND ROUND: Denver leads series 1-0
BOTTOM LINE: The Denver Nuggets host the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference second round with a 1-0 lead in the series. The Nuggets won the last meeting 121-113. Nikola Jokic scored 37 points to lead Denver to the win and Damian Lillard totaled 39 points in the loss for Portland.
The Nuggets are 12-4 against the rest of their division. Denver ranks second in the NBA with 27.4 assists per game. Jokic leads the Nuggets averaging 7.3.
The Trail Blazers have gone 21-20 away from home. Portland is fourth in the Western Conference scoring 114.7 points per game and shooting 46.7 percent.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is shooting 51.1 percent and averaging 20.1 points. Jamal Murray has averaged 19.5 points and collected 3.2 rebounds while shooting 46.0 percent over the last 10 games for Denver.
Lillard is averaging 25.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.9 assists for the Trail Blazers. CJ McCollum has averaged 15.8 points and collected 3.8 rebounds while shooting 33.1 percent over the last 10 games for Portland.
DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Trail Blazers: Averaging 111.3 points, 44.5 rebounds, 17.8 assists, 7.7 steals and 5.7 blocks per game while shooting 45.8 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.8 points on 45.0 percent shooting.
Nuggets: Averaging 107.1 points, 42.8 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.5 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.5 points on 47.0 percent shooting.
Nuggets Injuries: Michael Porter Jr.: out (back).
Trail Blazers Injuries: Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (leg fracture).
