DENVER (AP) Damian Lillards shots kept banging off the backboard, rattling off the rim, going everywhere but through the hoop.
The Portland Trail Blazers are going to the Western Conference Finals anyway because CJ McCollum had his back.
McCollum scored 37 points and added a crucial chase-down block in the closing minutes that helped the Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 100-96 on Sunday to advance to their first conference championship since 2000.
Theyll open Tuesday night at Golden State against the two-time defending NBA champion Warriors in a series pitting Portlands Seth Curry against his big brother, Golden State star Steph Curry.
It was a devastating end to Denvers season after the Nuggets ended a six-year playoff drought and earned the second seed in the Western Conference bracket.
TIP-INS:
Portland: Rodney Hood hyperextended his left knee in the third quarter. … Evan Turner, who scored just four points in the first six games of the series, added 14 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.
Denver: The Nuggets were 2 of 19 from beyond the arc and missed 11 free throws. Portland was 4 of 26 on 3-pointers and 20 of 24 from the stripe.
