Nikola Jokic powers Denver to victory over Portland in series opener

DENVER – Nikola Jokic scored 37 points and the Denver Nuggets withstood Damian Lillard's 39-point effort in a 121-113 win in the opener of their second-round playoff series Monday night.

Lillard worked for those 39 points, making only four of his 12 three-point shots, and when he needed one more three-pointer, Gary Harris blocked his shot from behind in the closing minute.

Jamal Murray added 23 points for Denver, which was making its first appearance in the second round in a decade, and Paul Millsap scored 19. Jokic, who averaged 23.1 points, 12.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists in the first round against San Antonio, made all 12 of his free throws and added nine rebounds and six assists.

Game 2 is Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center, where the Nuggets are 4-1 in the playoffs after going an NBA-best 37-4 at home during the regular season.

Back-to-back layups by Lillard pulled Portland to within five points with nine minutes left, but Jokic sank a pair of free throws off CJ McCollum's flagrant foul sandwiched by a pair of dunks by Mason Plumlee as Denver pushed its lead back to double digits at 107-96.

Portland never got much closer.

Denver was coming off a 90-86 win over San Antonio 48 hours earlier, its first Game 7 victory since May 3, 1978, against Milwaukee. The Trail Blazers, who are in the playoffs for the sixth straight season, had nearly a week off after dispatching Oklahoma City in five games.

The Trail Blazers did get a boost from Enes Kanter, who separated his left shoulder in Game 5 against the Thunder. He had 14 points by halftime, when Portland trailed 58-55.

Kanter, who signed with Portland after being waived by the Knicks following the trade deadline, was originally a backup to starter Jusuf Nurkic, but his role was magnified when Nurkic broke a leg March 25. Kanter averaged 13.1 points and 8.6 rebounds in 23 games down the stretch, then put up 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds in the first round.

Denver was 27-for-31 from the free throw line.