Nuggets eliminate Blazers in Game 6

MANILA, Philippines — "Dame Time" has run out.

The Denver Nuggets shut the door on the Portland Trail Blazers to advance to the second round of the playoffs, winning Game Six, 126-115, at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon on Thursday (Friday, Manila time).

Aaron Gordon's triple buried the Blazers after extending Denver's lead to nine, 124-115, with 52.6 left.

The Nuggets had to fight back from a double-digit deficit led by MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr.

The Trail Blazers looked poised to force a winner-take-all Game Seven in the third salvo where they led by as much as 14.

But the Nuggets went on a run, punctuated by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Monte Morris to trim the deficit to just three, 101-98, heading into the fourth quarter.

A 4-0 run to start the final quarter gave the Nuggets the lead, 102-101, with a Morris jumper.

While the Blazers took back the lead with five straight points, 106-102, it would be short-lived as they failed to gain the advantage again for the rest of the game.

The Nuggets ballooned their lead to as big as 11, 119-108, with a turnaround hook by Jokic with 3:20 left.

While Damian Lillard attempted to get his team back into the game, it was all for naught as the Nuggets came away with the win.

Jokic finished with 36 points to pace the Nuggets while Porter Jr. chipped in 26 markers -- 22 of which came in the opening quarter.

Lillard, for his part, led the Blazers in the losing effort with 28 points.

The Nuggets now await the winner of the series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, who are playing Game Six as of posting time.