The Portland Trail Blazers took control of their Western Conference semifinal series with a 140-137 win in quadruple-overtime on Friday night. Now they will try to pick up from where they left off hoping they have more gas left in their tank to protect home court advantage and win Game 4.

NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis

The Nuggets, who covered in Game 3, are just 1-4 against the spread (ATS) in their last five games following an ATS victory. The bigger issue for the Nuggets is the lack of straight up wins away from home. Denver went 20-21 as the visiting team during the regular season – one of only two Western Conference playoff teams that had a sub-.500 record on the road during the regular season. After Friday night’s loss, the Nuggets are just 1-3 on the road in the postseason.

Meanwhile, Portland has followed up a 32-9 regular season record at home with a 4-0 record at Moda Center so far in these playoffs. The Trail Blazers are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games when their opponent scored 100 points or more in their previous game. Portland is also 5-2 ATS in their last seven Sunday games dating back to the regular season.

Denver Nuggets

Denver is in a tough spot after throwing everything it had at the Trail Blazers in Game 3 and still coming up short. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic combined for 67 points in that loss. The Nuggets actually shot 45.4 percent from the field including 35.7 percent from beyond the arc, but it wasn’t enough to pick up the outright victory.

We know that Jokic is a monster but the Nuggets have to be worried about wearing him out. He played an incredible 65 minutes in Game 3. Sure, everyone’s minutes were elevated but the Blazers can share the load a little bit. If Jokic struggles or is fatigued, Denver could be in trouble because the rest of their offence has been inconsistent.

Portland Trail Blazers

The Trail Blazers are focused on keeping their foot on the gas pedal and making sure that they don’t let Denver back in to this series. Portland benefited from C.J. McCollum’s best performance of the playoffs in their latest win. McCollum scored 41 points with eight rebounds and four assists. If McCollum can produce at a high level, the Trail Blazers will be extremely difficult to beat on their home floor. Meanwhile, Damian Lillard continued to do his thing with 28 points, eight assists and six rebounds in Game 3. However, Lillard was just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc and will need to be better in that department. Portland has held Denver’s offence under wraps the last two games and that’s what they need to do again.

NUGGETS

Away

92

TRAIL BLAZERS

Home

104

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