Portland Trail Blazers (43-32) vs Denver Nuggets (49-26)
Game Info: Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 4:00 pm (Moda Center at the Rose Quarter)
Betting Odds: Portland Trail Blazers -3.5 -- Over/Under: 228.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
The Denver Nuggets and the Portland Trailblazers collide in a pivotal Game 4 at the Moda Center on Saturday.
The Denver Nuggets will be looking to take a commanding 3-1 series lead after taking down the Trailblazers in a pivotal 120-115 win in Game 3. Nikola Jokic was dominant once again as he led the way with 36 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, Austin Rivers added 21 points, Michael Porter Jr. scored 15 points while Frank Compazzo chipped in with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. As a team, the Nuggets shot 46 percent from the field and an efficient 20 of 38 from the 3-point line as they came out firing with 39 points in the first quarter to lead for most of the game, before escaping with the narrow win behind a clutch putback layup from Jokic in the final second of the game.
Meanwhile, the Portland Trailblazers will be absolutely kicking themselves as they’re now looking to square up the series after dropping a close one at home in Game 3. Damian Lillard did his best to carry the team with 37 points and five assists on 15 of 31 shooting, CJ McCollum added 22 points with nine rebounds and three assists, Norman Powell scored 18 points while Jusuf Nurkic chipped in with 13 points, 13 rebounds and six assists. As a team, the Trailblazers shot 45 percent from the field and 14 of 45 from the 3-point line as they rallied back from a 12-point deficit to tie the game midway through the fourth quarter, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion as they blew a chance to force overtime when they allowed an offensive rebound and putback layup with just one second left on the clock.
Looking at the betting trends, the Nuggets are 1-4 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record and 5-1-1 ATS in their last seven Conference Quarterfinals games. The Trailblazers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven home games, 7-2 ATS in their last nine games against a team above .600 and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the over is 4-0 in the last four meetings overall, the Nuggets are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall and the Nuggets are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings in Portland.
The Nuggets have done well over the last two games to wrestle back momentum in the series and it’s no surprise that we got another massive game from Jokic who has been on fire in this series. Lillard has been in fine form himself, but he’s going to need more support from players like McCollum and Nurkic if they want to avoid falling into a 3-1 series deficit. I think Jokic has another massive game, but this is pretty much a must-win game, so I’m sticking with Lillard to come up big at home.