Damian Lillard is on fire for Portland and the 4-0 Trail Blazers are basking in the heat. After a hot but tenuous start that saw them go 3-0 in games won by a total of eleven points, Lillard and the Blazers demolished the formidable Denver Nuggets (2-2) for their fourth straight win of the season.
This time it wasn’t close as Portland shot a sizzling 57.8% from the field in a 135-110 victory. Lillard shot 62.5% and his backcourt mate Anfernee Simons did him a little better, going 11-of-17 for 64.7%.
In one of the strangest stats yet in this young NBA season, 2x NBA MVP Nikola Jokic took only four shots against the Blazers in the loss, making three. Jokic was busy nonetheless, tabulating nine assists and nine boards, but the Nuggets will need their big man to routinely reach double figures to get on the winning side — Jokic had just nine points.
