Denver at Portland

Time: 9:30 PM CT (ESPN)

Series Tied 1-1

Spread: POR -4

Total: 214.5

Odds c/o 5dimes

The Portland Trail Blazers rebounded in Game 2 to take home court advantage in this series with its 97-90 victory. The series now tied, it shifts back to Portland where the Blazers are 4-point favorites in Game 3. The over/under is set at 214.5 points. Game 1 saw a total of 234 while Game 2 the teams combined for just 187. Pace has been the key, but it remains tough to gauge as usual. The game will tip off at 9:30 PM (CT) on ESPN.

Portland won game 2 despite some struggles from its superstar Damian Lillard. He shot just 5 of 17 en route to 14 points, four assists, and four rebounds. CJ McCollum led all Blazers’ scorers, but he shot just 8 of 20 (40 percent) to finish with 20 points, six assists, and six rebounds. Enes Kanter had an efficient 15 points and nine rebounds, but most importantly Kanter was able to limit Nuggets’ center Nikola Jokic, who had been a big problem in Game 1. Jokic had just 16 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists while shooting 7 of 17 in Game 2. The Nuggets shot a horrid 34.7 percent from the field and connected on just 6 of 29 from downtown (20.7 percent).

The Nuggets did limit its turnovers to just nine and Denver held a +11 advantage on the glass: Both of those areas must be focus points for Portland in Game 2; it must be tougher on the glass and manage to force more miscues from the Nuggs’ highly efficient offense. The Nuggets have not been getting much out of former starter Will Barton, either. He shot just 1 of 6 from the field for four points in 17 minutes.

Third-year reserve Malik Beasley made a bigger difference with his 13 points, but he, too, was just 4 of 11 from the floor. Though Portland shot just 42 percent itself, the Blazers did get to the line 20 times (hitting 16) while connecting on a passable 31 percent from three. Both teams are plenty capable of scoring the basketball, but Game 2 was a defensive battle (and way UNDER the over/under). Which type of game will we see in Game 3,  a regression to the scoring battle of the series opener, or another defensive struggle? 74 percent of bettors on Covers are picking Portland to cover the 4-point spread at home.

ATS TRENDS (Trends C/o Covers):

OU TRENDS