Portland Trail Blazers: Top 10 player performances of 2017

5. Jusuf Nurkic, March 9: 28 points, 20 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 blocks, 33.4 Game Score

While Nurkic’s night against Denver was impressive, he almost messed around and got a quadruple-double against the Philadelphia 76ers. However, getting it wasn’t easy, as this inter-conference matchup went to overtime. In the end, the Blazers still managed to pull off the 114-108 win at home.

Nurkic’s rebounding, assist and block totals were all career-highs. With Joel Embiid inactive for the game, Nurkic had free rein of the paint, taking over on both ends of the floor.

However, Nurkic didn’t have to carry the team to victory on his own. Lillard added 24 points and McCollum picked up 23 points in the win. Allen Crabbe had 18 points off of the bench.

The win was Portland’s fourth in a row, pulling them to within seven games of .500. A controversial overtime loss to the Washington Wizards the following game served as a minor setback to the 4-1 road trip that followed.

Jusuf Nurkic continues to show flashes of his March self throughout the 2017-18 season. However, none of his games this season have reached these heights. Still, this game and his outburst against Denver shows what he can deliver when he brings the energy and really gets things going.