Game 7 Will Dictate Damian Lillard, Nikola Jokic's Legacy for Better or Worse

PORTLAND, Ore. — The only predictable thing about this series is that it's going seven games.

Anything else wouldn't have been right. Through six games, the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets have proven their respective doubters wrong at every turn—making anyone who thought they had a handle on this series look silly. And after Portland's 119-108 Game 6 win on Thursday, the series is set to end the only way it should: with a Game 7.

It appeared to be over last Friday when the Blazers outlasted the Nuggets in an epic, four-overtime, Game 3 slugfest. It would stand to reason that suffering such a demoralizing loss on the road would take the wind out of Denver's sails. But Denver rallied in Game 4, stealing a close one in Portland to take back home-court advantage and tie the series at 2-2.

It appeared over once again on Tuesday, when Denver blew Portland out by 26 points at home, playing the Blazers off the floor and looking like they had them completely figured out. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum couldn't buy a basket, and their defense had no answer for Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap. Portland punched back on Thursday, with a more aggressive Lillard and big games from reserves Rodney Hood and Zach Collins powering them to a win.

Most people watching this series have by this point realized that predicting anything is a fool's errand.

"We lost in the first series [against San Antonio] at home and we lost in the second series at home," Jokic said after the game. "We also beat them [on the road]. … If we can pick, we're going to play Game 7 at our home. But I think mostly it's who brings the energy on the floor."

Throughout this playoff run, the Nuggets have proven that their lack of postseason experience doesn't mean much. This is the franchise's first playoff appearance since 2013 and, of their regular rotation players, only Millsap has significant experience in the postseason (from his years with the Atlanta Hawks). They outlasted the Spurs in seven games in the first round and have hung with a Blazers team that's been in the playoffs every year since their drought started.

The series with the San Antonio Spurs gave Denver's youngsters experience with something this Blazers group has never seen: a Game 7. Lillard's Portland teams have been in the playoffs the last six years and won their first-round series in half of those. But they've never been in a decisive, winner-take-all game like the one they will face on Sunday, in a hostile environment.

Not that these Blazers have backed down from a challenge thus far.

"For me, I'm not going in there saying, 'I've never been in a Game 7,'" Lillard said Thursday night. "I'm going in there saying, 'I know what this team is capable of. I know what I am and who I am as a player and I'm going in there to get the job done.' I'm not concerned with it being a Game 7 or whatever. It's not Game 7 of the Finals."

Lillard looked more like himself in Game 6 than he has all series, scoring 17 of his 32 points in a third quarter that helped Portland pull away for good. "Dame Time" struck a little late, but just in time to save Portland's season. He'll need a repeat performance in Game 7 to help the Blazers advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.

Denver's Conference Finals drought isn't quite as long—they made it in 2009—but advancing that far would put this young group far ahead of schedule, and boost Jokic's stature nationally.

The 2019 playoffs have been Jokic's coming-out party to the casual fan. A spectacular regular season, which included his first career All-Star appearance, established him as a borderline MVP candidate. But that lack of postseason experience led to the same questions all young, rising stars face about whether their regular-season success can continue at the next level.

Jokic has answered that question with a resounding yes—he's been the best player on the floor in the series with the Blazers and has had a bigger impact on the games than any other player on either team. He played a game-high 65 minutes in the quadruple-overtime loss, which more than doubled his typical per-game workload. Two days later, he dismissed any questions about his conditioning by putting up a 21-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double in Denver's bounce-back win. The Nuggets couldn't ask for anything more than he's given them.

Lillard, meanwhile, came into this series fresh off hitting one of the greatest shots in NBA playoff history. His reputation is intact as a big-game performer based on that, but until Game 6, he'd been somewhat quiet in the series. He came alive on Thursday and put the Blazers back on equal footing, setting up what could be the crowning achievement of his career.

Portland will likely need another huge Lillard game on Sunday if they are to beat Denver on the road. A Game 7 under these circumstances is new territory for Lillard and these Blazers. If they advance to the Western Conference Finals, it will only make Lillard's clutch reputation that much harder to refute.

If Lillard drags this beat-up, shorthanded Blazers team to the third round, even if they lose to the Golden State Warriors, it will change the conversation around him going into next season. Don't be surprised to see some early MVP buzz, as those seeds tend to be planted in the offseason and early part of the year.

Likewise, with a Game 7 win and another huge performance on this stage, Jokic would take the next step toward the kind of national visibility that has eluded him and the Nuggets thus far. However the next round goes, there will be more eyes on Jokic than ever. Thus far, every time the stakes have been raised, he's proven more than up to the challenge.

For both players and both teams, so much will hinge on how those 48 minutes go on Sunday.

"It's basically a game where only one team is going to make it out," Lillard said. "It's your last opportunity to play, so facing elimination is what it is to me, that's going to be my approach. We were facing elimination tonight, the only thing that's going to change is it's going to be on the road. It's for our season, for all the marbles."

It wouldn't be right if this series ended any other way.

Sean Highkin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. He is currently based in Portland. Follow him on Twitter @highkin.