Michael Porter Jr. emerged above a crowd of defenders as if he was on stilts, using a rare combination of size and wingspan to collect an offensive rebound the Nuggets needed during a sluggish start to Game 4 in Portland.
They needed the putback bucket, too, and the 6-foot-10 forward appeared to have a clear lane to the rim as he grabbed the ball in midair. Instead, Porter brought the ball down as he hit the floor, and the Trail Blazers lunged like piranhas, swiping it away from Porter before he could leap back toward the basket.
The play was a microcosm of the way the Blazers frustrated Porter and the rest of Denver’s roster during a 115-95 blowout of the Nuggets on Saturday afternoon, tying their first-round playoff series at 2-2 with Game 5 set for Tuesday night at Ball Arena.
