The Denver Nuggets convincingly defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 127-112, on Friday night. This was Denver’s second-straight victory coming out of the week-long break, bringing their overall record to 38-19. Because the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, 112-107, Denver is now only 1.5 games behind Minnesota for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference standings.

“We have to start our playoff push now,” said head coach Michael Malone after the game. “Just the approach and the proper mindset. And I’ve seen that in two games.”

Friday’s game wrapped up Denver’s 11th back-to-back of the year, and they swept both contests, winning by 20 points against the Washington Wizards on Thursday. They’re now 7-4 in “no rest” games. The Nuggets have just two more back-to-backs on the schedule in their final 25 games.

Nikola Jokić recorded his second-straight triple-double with 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists. This was his league-high 17th triple-double of the season and the 122nd of his career.

Michael Porter Jr. led all scorers with a season-high 34 points on 13-of-21 shooting and 5-of-10 from deep. This was his most points scored in a game since April 2021. He also snagged 12 rebounds, making this his second-straight double-double.

“I just needed it,” said Porter Jr. about the All-Star break. “I tried to play as many games as I could early on in the season, but we’ve got this stretch before the playoffs, so I’ve just got to bring the energy, get in shape, and get a rhythm, and that’s my goal right now.”

Collin Gillespie had a career night off the bench. The two-way player scored a career-best 18 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from deep.

“I’ve always known how solid Collin is as a point guard,” Porter Jr. said about Gillespie. “When you talk about guys who always make the right play and compete, that’s a coach’s favorite type of player right there. He can really play. He’ll have a long career in this league just because of his IQ, how he competes, and everything. I’m happy for him.”

Denver is now 3-0 against Portland this season. They’ve led by 20 or more points in all three games.

It was a Porter Jr. masterclass in the first half. MPJ had 12 points in the first quarter and then followed that up with another 10 points in the second quarter. His 22nd point came off a lethal stepback three-pointer. Denver quickly built a sizable lead, up 63-48 at the halftime break.

The Trail Blazers gave the Nuggets a scare with a 13-5 run to begin the second half, but then Gillespie played hero for the Nuggets. First, he hit a side-step three-pointer in the corner, and that ignited the rest of his offense. He would go on to score 10 second half points, including an incredibly tough reverse layup off a give-and-go with Jokić. This would help Denver build a 20-point lead to seal their third win against the Blazers of the season.