The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets on Sunday in Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals, advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
In a back-and-forth series which was regarded by most NBA commentators as the most entertaining series in the second round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs, the Blazers had the final say in Denver's Pepsi Center.
The Blazers reached their first Western Conference Finals since 2000 against the Los Angeles Lakers and earned a chance to play the two-time defending champion Golden State Warriors for the right to advance to the NBA Finals.
When NBA observers look back on this series, the first mention of Blazers-Nuggets will refer to the four-overtime epic in Game 3 in Portland, one of the rarest moments in NBA postseason history. It was remarkable enough that two teams kept going at each other in a high-stakes battle, with every run from one team being answered by the other. It was even more impressive that Nikola Jokic carried his large frame through one overtime period after another… and then had enough fuel in the tank to play a solid Game 4 and win in Portland to tie the series at 2-2.
The Blazers — having defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs — have spent this postseason fighting through injuries to key players. Jusuf Nurkic was out for the whole postseason. The Blazers overcame the Thunder without him. Portland's Enes Kanter was far from fully healthy in this series, but he battled Nikola Jokic and the rest of the Nuggets' frontcourt in the paint. Kanter's admirably gutsy performance was a reason this series went seven games.
The Nuggets' youth was both a blessing and a curse in this series. Denver displayed a fearless mindset in the road Game 4 win in Portland. Jamal Murray was at his best in Games 3 and 4. The Nuggets' energy and resilience were their friends in this series. The Nuggets suffered, however, from a lack of playoff experience. The Blazers have been through the postseason wars a lot more than Denver has, and that's a big reason this series seesawed the whole way, ending in a close Game 7.
Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals will be Tuesday night at 9 p.m. Eastern in Oakland, as the Warriors play in their fifth straight West Finals series.
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