Avdija leads Portland's comeback win over Denver, 118-110, as Clingan grabs 18 rebounds

Trailing by 14 points in the second quarter, the Portland Trail Blazers won 118-110 at Denver on Monday 2 November 2026, outscoring the Nuggets 33-23 in the fourth quarter. Deni Avdija led Portland with 28 points, Donovan Clingan hauled in 18 rebounds, and the Nuggets lost despite 35 points from Jamal Murray and 26 from Nikola Jokic.

A crowd of 19,520 was at Ball Arena for a game that tipped off at 3:00 a.m. Brazzaville time, overnight from 2 to 3 November. According to the latest injury report, Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther were listed as out for Denver, and Shaedon Sharpe and Ja Morant for Portland. Portland arrived in good form, and the win takes them to 5 wins and 1 defeat. Denver drop to 3-3.

Denver pull away, Portland hang on

The Nuggets took control of the game from the start: 15-8 after a little under six minutes, then 31-19 at the end of the first quarter. Denver's biggest lead came early in the second, at 33-19, a 14-point advantage with 11:37 left before halftime.

Portland did not give up. A 10-0 run by the Nuggets (from 36-32 to 46-32) initially seemed to put them out of reach, but the Trail Blazers responded with an 8-0 run (from 48-34 to 48-42) and won the second quarter 39-35. Denver led just 66-58 at halftime.

The game turns in the final ten minutes

The third quarter was a game of blow and counter-blow. Portland opened with an 8-0 run (from 70-58 to 70-66), Denver hit back with a 7-0 run (from 80-82 to 87-82), and the Nuggets held a two-point lead going into the final quarter: 87-85.

Then Portland took control. A 7-0 run moved the score from 89-87 to 89-94, and Portland led 99-96 with six minutes to play. A second 7-0 run, from 99-101 to 99-108, gave the visitors their biggest lead of the night: 9 points, with 3:05 left on the clock. The lead changed hands only three times in the game, and Denver never regained the lead after the end of the third quarter. The final quarter went 33-23 to Portland.

Standouts

For the Trail Blazers, Deni Avdija finished with 28 points and 5 assists, shooting 10 of 22. Donovan Clingan posted 17 points, 18 rebounds and 4 blocks, with a plus-minus of +10 in 32 minutes. Jrue Holiday, off the bench, contributed 17 points, 10 assists and 8 rebounds, with a plus-minus of +13, the best on his team. Damian Lillard added 20 points, including 9 of 10 at the line, with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Toumani Camara went 3 of 7 from three for 9 points, but also had 4 turnovers.

For the Nuggets, Jamal Murray finished with 35 points, 11 of 11 from the line, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, in 39 minutes. Nikola Jokic scored 26 points with 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals, but missed 12 of his 22 shots. Less convincing for Denver, DeMar DeRozan finished with 9 points (3 of 7 from the field) and a plus-minus of -9 in 20 minutes, the worst on his team.

Three takeaways

A 14-point turnaround. Denver led 33-19 in the second quarter and 66-58 at halftime, but lost the game by eight. Portland won three of the four quarters in Denver, scoring 39, 27 and 33 points in the last three periods against 35, 21 and 23.

Rebounds and three-pointers. Portland grabbed 53 rebounds to Denver's 37, a difference of 16. The Trail Blazers also took 92 shots to 77, and made 15 three-pointers to the Nuggets' 9. Both teams finished at 47% from the field: it was volume, more than accuracy, that made the difference.

Denver shot well from the line, though. The Nuggets made 29 free throws out of 34, against 17 out of 21 for Portland, and committed fewer turnovers (12 to 16). That 12-point advantage at the line was not enough to make up for the deficit in rebounds and three-pointers.

The SNA view

In a game where both teams shot 47%, a gap of 16 rebounds and six more three-pointers weigh heavily. The Nuggets also let Avdija reach 28 points while going only 2 of 9 from three, a sign that Portland found their points somewhere other than their top scorer's outside shooting. Denver's bench, with DeRozan at -9 and Marvin Bagley III at -5, did not provide the same support as Portland's.

What next

Portland (5-1) sit third in the Western Conference in the standings of 3 November, and visit Phoenix on 5 November at 3:00 a.m. Brazzaville time. Denver (3-3), tenth in the Western Conference, host Toronto the same day at the same time.