The Portland Trail Blazers have their signature win of the early 2025-26 NBA season — a gritty, improbable, come-from-behind, last-second 109-107 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night at home.

It came against the perennial-contending Nuggets, despite a big-time 21-point, 14-rebound, nine-assist performance from perennial MVP candidate Nikola Jokic. It happened on a night the Blazers battled through adversity and injuries and shooting slumps. It also happened to be the first night of the NBA Cup and Portland’s uphill pursuit in West Group C, dubbed the Group of Death, although Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter said his team didn’t need the extra motivation of Cup Pageantry for this matchup.

“To be honest, we didn’t mention the Cup. I think it’s already a big game,” Split

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