NBA scores 2017: Jusuf Nurkic leads revenge tour past Denver Nuggets with career evening

Jusuf Nurkic doesn’t make sense. It’s not really the Denver Nuggets’ fault that they traded him at the deadline — Nurkic had checked out, and the effort he’s providing in Portland is several times what we with his former team. But man, did he want to show them up on Tuesday. And he did just that.

On Tuesday, Nurkic set a career-high with 33 points against his former team, to go along with 16 rebounds, two assists, and three blocks. The Bosnian center had led a revival for Portland, and now they’re on the verge of taking the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference from Denver. Sure, much of that has to do with the schedule, more than anything. But the Blazers have played their way into this position, too.

In a 122-113 win, it clearly wasn’t only Nurkic. C.J. McCollum dropped 39 points, doing it on 15-of-24 shooting. Meanwhile, across the floor, Denver’s star center Nikola Jokic dropped only 17 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists.

With the loss, Denver officially falls out of the No. 8 seed. They sit one game back of Portland, but when you look at the schedule, the Blazer are clearly favored to coast into the playoffs. Who cares that it’s a death wish against the Warriors — both teams started the season wanting to reach the postseason, and unfortunately, only one of them can make it.

Portland has now won seven of their last eight games, and there are only two road games left in their eight-game schedule. The No. 8 seed is theirs, now, barring some unforeseen collapse. At this point, that doesn’t seem likely.

Golden State’s still missing Kevin Durant, but they didn’t mess around on Tuesday against the Houston Rockets. In a dominant display, they suffocated Houston’s electric offense, lit them up on the other end, and finished with a 113-106 win — which looks closer than it really was, considering they led from start to finish and never seriously put Houston in a position to retake the lead.

The Warriors have struggled off and on since the All-Star break, but their shooting slump appears to be ending and Durant’s return seems imminent. Any doubts we had about last year’s Western Conference champions can be cast upon their East counterpart, who has been in a much worse shape than them.

It’s only been — well, 38 years, since the Wizards last won their division. In fact, they were still named the Bullets then, and they were the defending champions the season in which they won.

Now, by beating Los Angeles, they’ve finally become division champs again — and ended the longest active streak in pro sports. Congrats!

What a celebration.

Bucks 118, Hornets 108 (Brew Hoop recap | At the Hive recap)

Timberwolves 115, Pacers 114 (Canis Hoopus recap | Indy Cornrows recap)

76ers 106, Nets 101 (Liberty Ballers recap | Nets Daily recap)

Heat 97, Pistons 96 (Hot Hot Hoops recap | Detroit Bad Boys recap)

Hawks 95, Suns 91 (Peachtree Hoops recap | Bright Side of the Sun recap)

Warriors 113, Rockets 106 (Golden State of Mind recap | The Dream Shake recap)

Trail Blazers 122, Nuggets 113 (Blazer’s Edge recap | Denver Stiffs recap)

Wizards 119, Lakers 108 (Bullets Forever recap | Silver Screen & Roll recap)