Jusuf Nurkic was instrumental to the Portland Trail Blazers' thrilling 112-107 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night at Moda Center, playing arguably his best game of the season.

The Bosnian Beast had 18 points and 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, exploiting a Bulls squad that often went small while playing without Nikola Vucevic. Nurkic dominated the offensive glass, grabbing six of his teammates' misses. His 8-of-13 shooting is even more encouraging given the intentional physicality Nurkic deployed while catching the ball on the roll and in the paint. He was an active, disruptive presence on defense from the opening tip, too — hardly the cause of Portland again falling behind by double digits early.

On the postgame podium, a smiling Nurkic pointed to the Blazers' increasing urgency and confidence after halftime as the driving force behind another comeback victory. Just like in their win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday, though, Nurkic watched from the bench during the game's closing moments, replaced by Larry Nance Jr. as Portland went small. Pleased as he was that his team beat a quality opponent, Nurkic couldn't help but admit some discomfort with the seemingly changing nature of his role.

“I'm not sure how I feel,” he said when asked about his comfort within Chauncey Billups' system. “I'm just trying to figure it out in a way that I didn't before. I'm just trying to be [as big] a pro as I could, whatever it is. … Am I comfortable yet? Not yet.”

Nurkic made perfectly clear that he'll be happy no matter what as long as the Blazers win. It's when his dip in crunch-time minutes and lack of involvement offensively come in losses that those developments become tough for Nurkic to stomach.

“Some games, most of the games in the [recent] past was just like, ‘Go with the flow.' So I just try to do my job, play defense, get rebounds, set screens,” he said. “If that's what it takes to win the game, I want do that. But if we lose, then my mind starts going crazy. Just trying to do what is best for the team.”

Article Continues Below
More Trail Blazers News
Mystery player in the middle, Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe around him, Blue lightning in the background
Portland Trail Blazers’ perfect outcome for No. 11 pick in 2025 NBA DraftEnzo Flojo ·
Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups talks to Scoot Henderson
Blazers’ Chaucey Billups issues ‘challenge’ to Scoot HendersonJedd Pagaduan ·
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) drives against Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons (1) in the fourth quarter at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Magic rumors: Anfernee Simons, Darius Garland must be on trade radar, says insiderJulian Ojeda ·
image thumbnail
3 players Portland Trail Blazers must avoid in 2025 NBA DraftCameron Zunkel ·
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket during the second half against Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) at Moda Center.
NBA rumors: Lakers insider drops eye-opening Blazers intel on potential trade candidateJulian Ojeda ·
Michael Porter Jr. photoshopped in Trail Blazers jersey (number 1)
Trail Blazers trade proposal for Michael Porter Jr. after postseason strugglesBailey Bassett ·

Contrary to the win over Toronto, when Nance played the entire fourth quarter at center, Nurkic got some extended burn during Wednesday's final stanza. He came in for Nance a bit earlier than normal toward the start of the fourth, making a palpable impact over the game's next eight-and-a-half minutes as the lead changed hands. Nurkic left the floor with just 1:36 remaining as Billups went with Nance to match Chicago small for small and switch across five positions with Portland up one. Clearly, the rookie head coach pushed the right buttons.

It's becoming more and more obvious that Nance and Nassir Little will join the Blazers' three starting guards in the clutch against teams that downsize, just like they did against the Raptors.

Billups made sure to laud Nurkic's “really, really good” performance after the game, also going out of his way to mention that Cody Zeller — who didn't play in the second half on Wednesday — remains a part of Portland's plans. He knows that while giving Nance more minutes at center is the right decision for Portland, it's not one that will thrill everybody in the locker room.

Count Nurkic among those who are a bit uncomfortable with that development. No different from accepting his supporting role on offense, though, he'll be a team player about spending the most important moments of some close games on the bench if it means the Blazers are successful.

“I might not like it,” Nurkic said, “but I respect Chauncey and I respect the coaching staff's [choice] to do it.”