Nikola Jokic Reveals What Led to Nuggets' 54-Point Win vs. Blazers

After losing a one-point thriller to the L.A. Clippers for their first game out of the All-Star break, the Denver Nuggets went into the second night of their back-to-back on a mission. As part of a three-game road trip, the Nuggets traveled to face the Portland Trail Blazers and quickly left after demolishing them 157-103.

The Nuggets' 157 points are the most the franchise has scored in a game since they hung 168 on the Seattle Supersonics in 2008. This was an unbelievable bounce-back performance by the Nuggets on Friday night, but how did they do it?

After the game, Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic explained how the team was able to go from a crushing loss on Thursday night to a 54-point win on Friday.

"Okay, we can say it was the All-Star break, we can find excuses, but I think we needed to play with a lot more urgency, like we started the game today," Jokic said. "I think we just had a good momentum to start the game. We were the aggressors, we were the ones who were setting the pace and tempo of the game."

Nuggets controlled the game vs. Trail Blazers

Jokic explains how the Nuggets were able to cruise to a blowout win because they controlled the game. Denver jumped out to a dominant first quarter and went on to outscore the Blazers by double-digits in every period.

Jokic had his way with 32 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists on 10-15 shooting from the field and 3-4 from three-point range in 29 minutes of action.

"Especially on a back-to-back, and especially against that team who I respect a lot ... it was a great win for us," Jokic said. When asked if they could build off of this win, he said, "Just try to repeat to set the tone and set the pace of how we want to play and to be aggressors. I think that's going to give us more opportunity to win a game."

Nikola Jokić was OUTSTANDING in the @nuggets road victory!

🃏 32 PTS (10-15 FGM)
🃏 9 REB
🃏 7 AST
🃏 4 STL pic.twitter.com/ZHjhSXlLgC
— NBA (@NBA) February 21, 2026

Of course, the Nuggets are not going to cruise to a 54-point victory every game, regardless of what approach they take, but controlling the pace and setting the tone will certainly lead to a win more often than not.

The Nuggets are now heading into a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Sunday afternoon, giving them minimal time to rest before their next game. Luckily, all of Denver's starters played fewer than 30 minutes on Friday night due to the blowout.

After losing five of their previous seven games heading into Friday's matchup in Portland, this type of win is exactly what the Nuggets needed. Now, if they can continue to build on what worked for them, they should continue to see similar success moving forward.