The Portland Trail Blazers followed up their three-game skid with their second straight victory in a 114-110 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Thursday night. Furthermore, their showdown versus the Sixers may have been a turning point for center Jusuf Nurkic.

Nurkic briefly exited the game after taking a shot to the nose just minutes into the second half. He returned and finished with one of his best games of the year with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Part of the reason for Nurkic's big night, was the fact that he came back to the floor with a bit of an edge, according to Joe Freeman of The Oregonian

“I was mad,” Nurkic said. “And, probably, the more I get mad, I play better. I'm not saying everybody needs every game to hit me in the nose. But I just need to play with the same energy every game like this. I was trying to kill everybody almost — in a good way.”

Not only was Nurkic a primary contributor in the win, but he managed to escape with his looks intact despite the laceration on his nose.

“It worked out pretty well tonight. I’m still cute.”

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The competitiveness in which Nurkic played with was something the Blazers had been waiting for all year. The fourth-year man out of Bosnia had done little to improve on his play since coming over to Portland during the 2016-17 NBA season.

Fortunately, he showed plenty of promise when playing with a chip on his shoulder. That said, Nurkic will have to figure out a way to bring that fire every night without having to get hit in the face.