Gary Harris provided the home fans at the Pepsi Center with a delicious finish over Portland Trail Blazers center Zach Collins on Monday night. The Denver Nuggets guard took off from the baseline after a Nikola Jokic bounce pass caught him backdoor, eluding CJ McCollum's defense and slithering around the 7-footer with an airborne up-and-under with plenty of English on the ball.

Syrupy sweet:

Yet Harris wasn't only making plays on offense, bringing his sturdy defense along with him on this chasedown block of Damian Lillard — getting all ball and all cheers from the home crowd:

Gary Harris was one of four starters in double figures for the Nuggets, as his 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal helped power Denver to a 121-113 Game 1 win to get the series started.

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The Michigan State product was hindered by injuries throughout the regular season, but is enjoying full health throughout this postseason run, seen as the stabilizer of a young team with boundless potential.

Expect to see more fireworks at both ends from Harris, now pressed to contain a high-octane backcourt of Lillard and McCollum throughout the course of this series.

Both teams will play again on Game 2 on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center before the series shifts to Portland.