Denver Nuggets vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction, Preview and Odds - 02/20/2026

Game Time: 10:00 pm ET, Friday, February 20, 2026

Venue:  Moda Center, Portland, OR 

Where to Watch:  ALT, KUNP

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Nuggets -3.5, Blazers +3.5; Over/Under:  237.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Nuggets -3.5, Blazers +3.5; Over/Under:  237.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Nuggets -2.5, Blazers +2.5; Over/Under:  238.5 points

Denver Nuggets:  35-20 (2nd place, Northwest Division)

Portland Trail Blazers:  27-29 (4th place, Northwest Division)

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Denver Nuggets:  5-5 last 10

Portland Trail Blazers:  4-6 last 10

The Nuggets are entering this game with a 35-20 record overall this season and they are 20-9 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Memphis Grizzlies, but this is also the 2nd game of a back-to-back for them with their game against the Los Angeles Clippers still to be played on Thursday night. In their game against the LA Clippers, Nikola Jokić led the team in points in that game with 26 while Jamal Murray was next on the team with 23 points. Nikola Jokić led the team in assists in that game with 11 while Nikola Jokić led the team in rebounds with 15. They were 53.1% from the field, 45.5% from 3-point range, and 81.3% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 120.4 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 116.3 PPG against them. The Nuggets have an ATS record of 31-24 this season and their O/U record is 34-21.

The Trail Blazers are entering this game with a 27-29 record overall this season and they are 16-13 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. They are entering this game off a win against the Utah Jazz. Jrue Holiday led the team in points in that game with 31 while Donovan Clingan was next on the team with 23 points. Donovan Clingan and Jrue Holiday each led the team in assists in that game with 7 while Donovan Clingan led the team in rebounds with 18. They were 51.1% from the field, 39.1% from 3-point range, and 75.8% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 116.3 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 118.3 PPG against them. The Trail Blazers have an ATS record of 30-26 this season and their O/U record is 30-26.

The current betting odds have the Trail Blazers listed as a 3.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Trail Blazers haven't looked great in their games this season with their 27-29 record overall which has them in the bottom half of the West. They have looked a lot better on their home court though with their 16-13 home record this season. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have looked really good in their games this season with their 35-20 record overall which has them in the top half of the West. They have been a great road team too with their 20-9 road record this year. The Nuggets have been a really interesting team this season since they are a lot deeper than they were last season. They have been missing Jokic for quite a bit of time this year, yet they have still been able to stay near the top of the West. Now Jokic is back and the team is pretty healthy, but they still haven't looked that great lately. They went into the All-Star Break with a win over the Grizzlies, but they are only 5-5 in their last 10 games and have been really up and down since Jokic returned to the lineup. They have surprisingly been a better road team this year too, but they aren't in a great situation for this game. They are playing this game on the road on a back-to-back with a tough game against the Clippers the night before while the Trail Blazers are going to be rested, playing their first game back from the break. The Trail Blazers haven't looked great lately as they are 4-6 in their last 10 games, but they went into the break off a win over the Jazz and they have a lot of young players this year that are trying to find their way. They have looked like a different team in their home games though and even when they lose on their home court, they make the games really competitive. Look for the Trail Blazers to come out of the break strong and bring their best effort against one of the best in the West who is in a bad situation on a back-to-back. The best way to place a bet here is on the Trail Blazers to cover the spread in this game. 

Nuggets Trail Blazers Prediction:  Our NBA Pick for Friday, February 20, 2026 (10:00 pm ET start time) is Nuggets 123 Trail Blazers 121.

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Denver Nuggets: 17-10 ATS when playing against a marginal losing team (Win Pct. 40% to 49%). 19-10 ATS in road games. 28-22 ATS versus good passing teams, averaging 23 assists/game or more. 10-2 OVER revenging a straight up loss vs opponent as a favorite. 19-10 OVER in road games.

Portland Trail Blazers: 4-19 1H ATS after 3 or more consecutive overs. 4-7 1H ATS off a win against a division rival. 14-20 1H ATS versus teams who average 7 or less steals/game on the season. 32-19 OVER when playing against a good team (Win Pct. 60% to 70%). 

Denver Nuggets:  J. Pickett (SG) Day To Day - Knee. P. Watson (SF) Out - Hamstring. A. Gordon (PF) Out - Hamstring. T. Bates (SG) Out - Foot.

Portland Trail Blazers:  R. Williams III (C) Day To Day - Knee. S. Sharpe (SG) Day To Day - Calf. K. Murray (SF) Day To Day - Back. M. Thybulle (SG) Out - Knee. D. Lillard (PG) Out For Season - Achilles.

"They attacked him when he turned his back. Again, he's still coming back off the injury, conditioning. I ran him the whole first quarter just to kind of do something different with him. Sometimes you're trying to win a game and help somebody out because we're not practicing, that's a way to condition the guy. That being said, his turnovers were high, but he had 26-15-11, made some huge plays at the end, made his free-throws when they mattered. I was proud of him, but he fought through it as well." - David Adelman after his team’s win against the Grizzlies in their game on Wednesday.

“We still had 19 turnovers. That’s something that we gotta get better at, something that we gotta focus on.” - Tiago Splitter on where his team needs to improve.

PG Jamal Murray

SG Christian Braun

SF Cameron Johnson

PF Spencer Jones

C Nikola Jokic

PG Jrue Holiday

SG Vit Krejci

SF Toumani Camara

PF Deni Avdija 

C Donovan Clingan

PPG: Nikola Jokic (28.7)

APG: Nikola Jokic (10.7)

Reb/G: Nikola Jokic (12.3)

PPG: Deni Avdija (25.2)

APG: Deni Avdija (6.6)

Reb/G: Donovan Clingan (11.5)

Coaches:

Denver Nuggets: David Adelman (2nd season)

Portland Trail Blazers: Tiago Splitter (1st season)