Damian Lillard is aware that his turnovers had an impact in deciding a closely contested Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. The Portland Trail Blazers were unable to shock the Denver Nuggets and steal home-court advantage, instead losing 121-113 to a fundamentally sound team that took care of the ball formidably on Monday night.

Lillard's game-high six turnovers were part of his frustration, despite scoring a game-high 39 points and having plenty of days to rest after waving goodbye to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. However, he has quickly found out the Nuggets have chosen to play him similar to how the Thunder did in this past series:

“I think it was more similar than I thought [it would be],” Lillard said of Denver's defensive approach compared to OKC's, according to ESPN's Royce Young.

The Blazers had 18 turnovers as a team and Lillard had a third of them, often hounded by a long and spry Gary Harris, who used his frame to deny Lillard of some key opportunities:

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“That was a huge part of it. I know I had six myself,” said Lillard of his turnover situation. “As much as I have the ball, I'm responsible for valuing possessions. On the road, against a team that plays much faster, much better at home, especially when they get out in transition and shoot 3s and get the ball moving, just gave them too many opportunities. Twenty-three points off turnovers, that's always going to hurt you.”

The Nuggets only had 12 turnovers in the game, which could have proved the difference in a single-digit, closely contested battle, with both teams shooting above 50% from the floor.

If Lillard can limit his turnovers down the road, his Blazers stand a much better chance of coming out on top throughout the course of this series.