The Denver Nuggets have captured the series lead in this 2021 NBA Playoffs first-round matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers with back-to-back wins in Game 2 and 3. Will the Nuggets win three in a row? Or will the Blazers even things up? Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers NBA Playoffs Round 1 Game 4 on May 29, 2021
Where: Moda Center, Portland
When: Saturday, May 29, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Denver Nuggets (odds) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (odds) – view all 2020-21 NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Denver Nuggets (odds)
Regular Season Record: 49-26
The Nuggets made it rain from deep in Game 3 to defeat Portland again, 120-115. After making 23 3-pointers combined in the first two games of the series, the Nuggets’ shooters drained a total of 20 threes on 38 attempts. Nikola Jokic had four of those triples, while Austin Rivers went 5 of 10 from behind the arc. Jokic led the team with 36 points on 12-of-24 shooting to go with 11 rebounds and five assists. Portland has yet to show it can contain him, and it’s likely that the series will finish without the Blazers showing an effective way to stop the Serbian. So far in the series, Jokic is averaging 36.0 points on 57.7 percent shooting from the field and 50.7 percent from 3-point distance, 11.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. He’s also the huge reason why the Blazers are barely playing Enes Kanter, who just couldn’t defend.
The Nuggets are 4-2 against the spread in their last six games overall. The over is 7-3 in their last 10, too.
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers (odds)
Regular Season Record: 43-32
Damian Lillard scored 37 points in Game 3 to bring his series average to 37.7 points. However, he’s merely cancelling out Jokic, whose supporting case has just been better than Lillard’s. The Blazers took 100 shots in Game 3 while Denver only had 84, but Portland wasted a lot of it on 3-point attempts that turned into bricks. Lillard went 5 of 16 from deep; CJ McCollum had 22 points but was 8 of 20 from the field and 3 of 10 from long distance; Norman Powell and Robert Covington combined for 2 of 8 from behind the arc. What the Blazers need is to get better looks at the basket by swinging the ball around. The Blazers are still shooting the ball well from downtown, where they have connected on 41.5 percent of their shots. McCollum is Lillard’s top sidekick, as he’s averaging 17.3 points, while Powell is making 11.3.
The Blazers are 6-4 against the spread in their last 10 games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Nuggets win, 119-15.
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