Jerami Grant made two free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to record a 109-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets in NBA Cup play on Friday night.
Deni Avdija scored 23 points and Shaedon Sharpe added 19 for Portland, which won its third consecutive game. Grant had 16 points, Toumani Camara added 14 and Jrue Holiday registered 11 points and 13 assists for the Trail Blazers, who scored the game’s final seven points in the last 54 seconds.
Jamal Murray scored 22 points and Nikola Jokic had 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Nuggets, who had a three-game winning streak halted. Aaron Gordon posted 14 points for Denver in the opener of West Group C play for both teams.
Jokic fell one assist shy of a fifth straight triple-double to open the season, which would have set an NBA record. Oscar Robertson (1961-62 season) and Russell Westbrook (2020-21) also had four to start campaigns.
Gordon fouled Grant with 1.4 seconds remaining and the score tied. Grant made both free throws despite trying to miss the second one on purpose. Jokic was the recipient of a long pass near the free-throw line, but his jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.
Gordon drained a 20-footer to put Denver up 107-102 with one minute left before the Trail Blazers used Avdija’s three-point play and two free throws from Grant to tie it at 107 with 27.7 seconds to go.
The Trail Blazers made 41.8% of their field-goal attempts, including 11 of 39 (28.2%) from behind the arc. Kris Murray had 10 points, six rebounds and three steals off the bench, and Donovan Clingan grabbed 15 boards for Portland.
Denver shot 48.1% and connected on just 6 of 25 (24%) from 3-point range. Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 11 points and fellow reserves Jonas Valanciunas and Peyton Watson had 10 points apiece.
Portland took a 68-67 lead in the third quarter on Kris Murray’s basket with 5:44 remaining before the Nuggets went on a quarter-ending 14-3 run.
Holiday’s 3-pointer with 4:14 left accounted for the Trail Blazers’ only points during the span. Denver tallied the final nine points for an 81-71 lead entering the fourth and later led by eight after two free throws by Valanciunas with 7:31 remaining.
Portland later scored nine of 11 points and took a 99-98 edge on Holiday’s 3-pointer with 3:29 to play.
Jamal Murray had 16 first-half points to help the Nuggets hold a 57-53 halftime lead. Avdija scored 14 in the half for Portland.
