Nuggets rout Trail Blazers on Nikola Jokic's low-scoring night / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: AFP-Scanpix Credit AFP-Scanpix

JaMychal Green came off the bench to record 20 points on 7-of-8 shooting and collected 10 rebounds to help the red-hot Denver Nuggets (36-25) cruise to an easy 124-92 (32-27, 33-21, 21-22, 38-22) victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers (25-36) on Sunday night.

Player of the Game EFF 32 Nikola Jokic Points 8 Accuracy 3-5 Rebounds 18 Assists 11

DeMarcus Cousins registered 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and fellow reserve Bryn Forbes was 5 of 6 from 3-point range and scored 17 points as the Nuggets won a season-best sixth straight game and prevailed for the eighth time in the past nine games.

Jeff Green and Aaron Gordon scored 14 points apiece as Denver moved to a season-high 11 games over .500. Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had 18 rebounds and 11 assists but scored just eight points in 26 minutes to miss out on a triple-double.

The Nuggets' lead topped out at 35 points.

Anfernee Simons led the Trail Blazers with 16 points but was just 5 of 18 from the field.

Drew Eubanks added 13 points and 10 rebounds, Brandon Williams tallied 12 points and Josh Hart scored 11 points as Portland was routed for the second straight time following a four-game winning streak. The Trail Blazers lost 132-95 to the visiting Golden State Warriors on Thursday.

Denver shot 51.2 percent from the field, including 12 of 37 from 3-point range. The Nuggets held a 55-42 rebounding advantage.

The Trail Blazers made just 37.4 percent of their attempts and were a shaky 6 of 36 from behind the arc.

JaMychal Green scored 13 points and Jeff Green added 12 in the first half as the Nuggets held a 65-48 advantage at the break. Denver outscored Portland 33-21 in the second quarter to open the gap.

The comfortable lead was built despite Jokic having just four points.

The lead continued to grow and reached 20 on Gordon's tip-in to make it 78-58 with 6:11 left in the third quarter.

The Nuggets led 86-70 entering the final stanza. A 3-pointer by Forbes boosted the lead to 101-74 with 7:54 remaining.

The advantage hit 30 for the first time when Cousins made two free throws with 5:12 left.

Denver Nuggets: JaMychal Green 29 (7/8 FG, 5/6 FT, 10 REB), DeMarcus Cousins 19 (7/10 FG, 3/6 FT, 8 REB, 6 AST), Bryn Forbes 17 (6/10 FG), Aaron Gordon 14 (6/12 FG, 1/2 FT), Jeff Green 14 (4/5 FG, 6/6 FT, 3 REB), Nikola Jokic 8 (3/5 FG, 2/2 FT, 18 REB, 11 AST).

Portland Trail Blazers: Anfernee Simons 16 (5/18 FG, 5/7 FT), Drew Eubanks 13, Brandon Williams 12, Josh Hart 11.

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