Portland Trail Blazers: 3 takeaways from Game 2 road win vs. Nuggets

2. The role players stepped up

In Game 1, most of Portland’s role players — namely Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless — struggled. Players outside of the makeshift Big 3 of Lillard, McCollum and Kanter accounted for just 28.3 percent of the scoring. On Wednesday, the role players stepped up, increasing their scoring share to 49.5 percent.

Rodney Hood led the bench unit for the second consecutive game. He’s now averaging 16 points per game in the semifinals after averaging just 3.2 points per game in the first round. Zach Collins followed him up with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and six rebounds.

Aminu and Harkless also bounced back from rough Game 1s. Chief notched his first double-double of this postseason, and although injuries slowed down Harkless’ night, he picked up five points on 2-of-3 shooting, four rebounds and a steal in the 13 minutes he managed to play.

Lillard and McCollum certainly give the Portland Trail Blazers their identity. However, the role players have been key to this team’s success. This was made apparent in Game 2, a night where their star player wasn’t in rhythm offensively.