After the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday to clinch the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference, Jusuf Nurkic spoke about his late grandmother after she passed away due to COVID-19.
As expected, Nurkic was very emotional, via Ben Golliver of the Washington Post.
A grieving Jusuf Nurkic on 22 points & 21 rebounds in Blazers win over Grizzlies after learning of grandmother’s death following covid-19 battle: “I didn’t want to play. She made me play… I’m glad we won and are in the playoffs. That’s what we came for.” pic.twitter.com/6HwYwe9XDq
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 15, 2020
It took incredible strength for Jusuf Nurkic to play against the Grizzlies and have a monster 20-20 game. His grandmother would certainly be proud of him.
The Blazers get one day off before they take on the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. Nurkic, Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and Carmelo Anthony have consistently said they don't view the Blazers as an eighth seed. The team is finally healthy for the first time all season and could give the Lakers a run for their money.
Nurkic, who missed the majority of the 2019-20 season recovering from the horrific leg injury he suffered in 2018-19, has been nothing short of spectacular for the Blazers. The Bosnian Beast entered Saturday averaging 17.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 31.6 minutes per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field.
For the Blazers to upset LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers, Nurkic will have to continue his incredible play and make things difficult for Davis in the post. Game 1 of the series is on Monday.
Follow Us
Subscribe