The Denver Nuggets were unable to take care of homecourt advantage after the Portland Trail Blazers secured a win in Game 2. As the series begins to heat up, center Nikola Jokic has noticed things have started to get quite chippy.

Game 2 was highlighted by a brief scuffle between both teams that involved center Enes Kanter and guard Gary Harris. Jokic said such chippiness is supposed to occur in the playoffs, via NBC Sports Northwest

“It’s the playoffs. We want to win, they want to win. It’s a normal thing.”

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There is certainly plenty of truth to Jokic's comments. Pitting the same teams against each other over the span of several days when it is win or go home forces players to compete with much more urgency. It is clear that Denver and Portland are not wasting any time in getting things started.

Although chippiness is to be expected, Jokic will need to ensure that his team does not get too caught up in the emotional aspect of the series. The Blazers have already shown plenty of composure after closing out their series in the opening round versus the Oklahoma City Thunder. They were able to compete at a high level while taking care of the task at hand thanks to the heroics of point guard Damian Lillard.

Nikola Jokic will now have an opportunity to do the same in the semifinal round. He can start by finding his rhythm on offense again. While he was nothing short of spectacular during the Nuggets' win in Game 1, the Blazers found a way to contain him in Game 2 to split the series before heading home.