Jimmy Butler had 22 points and nine assists, Terry Rozier scored 19 points and the Miami Heat beat the Portland Trail Blazers 106-96 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win. Rozier was one of three players returning to the Miami lineup, playing in his first game since sustaining a knee injury on Feb. 11 against Boston. “He has an ability to break the defense down, or at least get a defense to overreact,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Nikola Jokic had 29 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists for his 17th triple-double of the season, Michael Porter scored 34 points and had 12 rebounds and the Denver Nuggets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 127-112 on Friday night. Collin Gillespie made all four of his 3-point attempts off the bench for the Nuggets and finished with 18 points. “In this league, you have to win the games you’re supposed to win on paper,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.
While overall NBA viewership has increased in local markets over the last year, the Portland Trail Blazers did not get to share in that success, according to a new report.