Honestly, if you turned off the TV with a minute left in the Nuggets vs Trail Blazers last game, you probably thought Denver had it in the bag. Most people did. The Nuggets were up by five points with about 60 seconds on the clock, looking every bit like the championship contenders everyone expects them to be. But the NBA Cup opener on Halloween night turned into a total horror show for Denver fans.
It was chaotic.
Portland somehow clawed back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to snatch a 109-107 victory at the Moda Center. If you’re a Nuggets fan, this one stung. It wasn’t just a loss; it was a bizarre sequence of officiating calls, a missed NBA record, and a Jerami Grant masterclass in the closing seconds.
What Really Happened With the Nuggets vs Trail Blazers Last Game?
Let's talk about the final minute because that’s where everything went sideways. Aaron Gordon hit a 20-footer to put Denver up 107-102. It felt like the dagger. But then Deni Avdija—who was basically the best player on the floor for Portland that night—converted a massive and-1. Suddenly, it’s a two-point game.
Then came the drama.
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Jerami Grant tied it up with two free throws with 27 seconds left. Denver had a chance to win it, but the possession was a mess. There was a jump ball called that had Nikola Jokic looking absolutely incredulous—he clearly thought he was hacked. Instead of a foul, it was a toss-up. Portland got the ball back, and with 1.4 seconds left, Aaron Gordon was whistled for a foul on Grant.
Grant, a former Nugget himself, stepped to the line and buried both. He actually tried to miss the second one on purpose to run out the clock, but the ball banked in anyway. Talk about luck.
The Nikola Jokic Record That Wasn't
The weirdest part of the Nuggets vs Trail Blazers last game wasn’t even the score. It was the stat sheet. Nikola Jokic entered the night on the verge of history. He had recorded four straight triple-doubles to start the season. If he had notched one more, he would have set an NBA record for the most consecutive triple-doubles to open a campaign, passing legends like Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.
He finished with:
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- 21 points
- 14 rebounds
- 9 assists
One assist. He was literally one pass away from history. Late in the game, the Blazers were aggressively triple-teaming him, forcing the ball out of his hands, but his teammates just couldn't convert the looks into buckets. It's kinda wild to think that in a two-point game, a single extra pass could have changed the record books and potentially the outcome.
Why Denver Fumbled the Bag
You can blame the refs all you want—and believe me, Nuggets Twitter did—but Denver lost this because they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from deep. They shot a dismal 24% from the three-point line (6-for-25). In the modern NBA, you just can't win like that, especially when the other team is hanging around.
Jamal Murray put up 22 points, but he looked frustrated by Portland’s length all night. On the other side, the Blazers were playing with a "nothing to lose" energy. Deni Avdija finished with 23 points, and Shaedon Sharpe chipped in 19. They looked faster and more desperate for the win.
A Look at the "New" Blazers
Portland is in a weird spot. They aren't supposed to be "good" yet, but under Tiago Splitter, they’ve shown flashes of being incredibly annoying to play against. They currently sit at 20-22 as of mid-January 2026, which is way better than the bottom-feeder status many predicted for them.
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Winning the NBA Cup opener against the Nuggets gave them a huge confidence boost. It proved that their young core—Avdija, Sharpe, and the rookie Donovan Clingan (who grabbed 15 boards against the best center in the world)—can actually compete with the elite.
Critical Stats from the Matchup
If you're a numbers person, the discrepancy in the bench play was the real story. Denver's starters did their job for the most part, but the second unit struggled to keep the momentum.
- Portland's Bench: Jerami Grant's 16 points and Kris Murray's 10 points provided the spark Portland needed when the starters sat.
- Denver's Bench: Peyton Watson and Jonas Valanciunas both had 10, but the overall efficiency wasn't there.
- Rebounding: Surprisingly, Portland held their own, largely thanks to Clingan’s massive presence in the paint.
How to Use This Info for the Next Matchup
The Nuggets and Trail Blazers are scheduled to meet again on February 20, 2026, back at the Moda Center. If you're looking at the betting lines or just want to sound smart at the sports bar, here is what you need to keep in mind:
- Watch the 3-Point Variance: Denver's shooting was an anomaly in the last game. Expect them to come out firing in the rematch. If they hit 35% of their threes, Portland is in trouble.
- The Jokic Factor: Nikola won't be hunting a record next time, which usually makes him even more dangerous. He’ll likely look to dominate Clingan early to get the rookie in foul trouble.
- Portland’s Confidence: The Blazers now know they can beat Denver. They won't be intimidated by the "Nuggets" name on the jersey.
If you want to track how these teams are trending, keep an eye on Portland's injury report. They’ve been playing a high-intensity style that’s left them a bit banged up in January. Denver, meanwhile, is starting to look like they’re in "post-All-Star break" mode, where they typically tighten up the rotation and start hunting for the top seed in the West.
Check the local listings for the February 20th game—it's likely to be a high-scoring affair as Denver looks for a bit of revenge for that Halloween heartbreaker.