The Denver Nuggets grabbed the crucial first game of their series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night with a 121-113 win on their home court.

Despite going to seven games in their first series against the San Antonio Spurs and playing on less rest than the Blazers, the Nuggets didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects in the series opener at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

It wasn’t easy for the Nuggets, who had to withstand yet another scoring barrage from Damian Lillard. Portland’s point guard had another phenomenal game, scoring 39 points on only 21 attempts from the field.

The Nuggets’ answer to Lillard was center Nikola Jokic, who controlled the paint all night. The 23-year-old scored 37 points and gathered 9 rebounds in a dominant performance that led his team to the win.

Denver also got strong performances out of point guard Jamal Murray, who chipped in 23 points and 8 assists, and power forward Paul Millsap, who scored 19 points of his own.

The second game of the series will take place in Denver on Wednesday night.

The post Nuggets Take Game 1 Against Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Each of the 32 teams in the NBA has played 82 games as of Wednesday night, and the regular season has officially wrapped up. While we knew most of the participants in the postseason before, yesterday’s games were crucial in determining playoff matchups and who gets the home court advantage in the first round. Now, we have the NBA Playoffs Brackets all locked up.

The biggest thriller without a doubt was the game between Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, where the winner would enter the Western Conference playoffs and the loser would miss out on them. Although the Nuggets forced the overtime, the Timberwolves ended up being more composed and made sure they are going to play in the postseason for the first time since 2014 with a 112-106 win. Jimmy Butler and the co. will now face the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Another interesting game in the wild wild West was the matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Portland Blazers where the winner was set for the thirds seed. Blazers came through with a 102-93 win and will face with the sixth seed New Orleans Pelicans. Jazz, on the other hand, have fallen down to five seed, losing the home court advantage and are now locked to play with Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers has trashed the Milwaukee Bucks 130-95 and secured the third seed. This also worked out in the favor of the Bucks, who will now face the two seeded injury-plagued Boston Celtics in the playoffs. The Washington Wizards suffered a 92-101 loss to Orlando Magic and will have to play against the first seeded Toronto Raptors.

The first NBA Playoff games are scheduled for April 14th. You can check out the full NBA Playoffs Brackets for both conferences below.

Eastern Conference

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

The post NBA Playoffs Brackets Set as the Regular Season Wraps-Ups appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Denver Nuggets grabbed the crucial first game of their series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night with a 121-113 win on their home court.

Despite going to seven games in their first series against the San Antonio Spurs and playing on less rest than the Blazers, the Nuggets didn’t seem to suffer any ill effects in the series opener at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

It wasn’t easy for the Nuggets, who had to withstand yet another scoring barrage from Damian Lillard. Portland’s point guard had another phenomenal game, scoring 39 points on only 21 attempts from the field.

The Nuggets’ answer to Lillard was center Nikola Jokic, who controlled the paint all night. The 23-year-old scored 37 points and gathered 9 rebounds in a dominant performance that led his team to the win.

Denver also got strong performances out of point guard Jamal Murray, who chipped in 23 points and 8 assists, and power forward Paul Millsap, who scored 19 points of his own.

The second game of the series will take place in Denver on Wednesday night.

The post Nuggets Take Game 1 Against Blazers appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Each of the 32 teams in the NBA has played 82 games as of Wednesday night, and the regular season has officially wrapped up. While we knew most of the participants in the postseason before, yesterday’s games were crucial in determining playoff matchups and who gets the home court advantage in the first round. Now, we have the NBA Playoffs Brackets all locked up.

The biggest thriller without a doubt was the game between Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets, where the winner would enter the Western Conference playoffs and the loser would miss out on them. Although the Nuggets forced the overtime, the Timberwolves ended up being more composed and made sure they are going to play in the postseason for the first time since 2014 with a 112-106 win. Jimmy Butler and the co. will now face the Houston Rockets in the first round.

Another interesting game in the wild wild West was the matchup between the Utah Jazz and the Portland Blazers where the winner was set for the thirds seed. Blazers came through with a 102-93 win and will face with the sixth seed New Orleans Pelicans. Jazz, on the other hand, have fallen down to five seed, losing the home court advantage and are now locked to play with Oklahoma City Thunder.

In the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers has trashed the Milwaukee Bucks 130-95 and secured the third seed. This also worked out in the favor of the Bucks, who will now face the two seeded injury-plagued Boston Celtics in the playoffs. The Washington Wizards suffered a 92-101 loss to Orlando Magic and will have to play against the first seeded Toronto Raptors.

The first NBA Playoff games are scheduled for April 14th. You can check out the full NBA Playoffs Brackets for both conferences below.

Eastern Conference

(1) Toronto Raptors vs. (8) Washington Wizards
(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks
(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Miami Heat
(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

(1) Houston Rockets vs. (8) Minnesota Timberwolves
(2) Golden State Warriors vs. (7) San Antonio Spurs
(3) Portland Trail Blazers vs. (6) New Orleans Pelicans
(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Utah Jazz

The post NBA Playoffs Brackets Set as the Regular Season Wraps-Ups appeared first on SportzBonanza.