Whether it was hitting big shots, grabbing rebounds or playing his always tenacious defense, the Portland Trail Blazers don’t defeat the Denver Nuggets 118-110 on Monday without Jrue Holiday.

The 36-year-old was the kind of presence required in a game where the Nuggets controlled the whistle and got to the line 13 more times than the Blazers.

And yet, despite that lopsided difference, Portland got it done behind Holiday and a commitment to better defense.

Holiday himself

First we’ll start with what Holiday did from a box score perspective, which was nearly a triple-double effort with 17 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.

Getting to that 17 points required three made 3-pointers, including one of the best highlights of the night when he crossed up Aaron Gordon to the floor and then hit a stepback 3-pointer.

For a guy who’s made a career out of being known for defense, Holiday has shown he has plenty of offensive firepower still left in the tank from his season and some change in Portland.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t say Jrue Holiday was about as good as it gets,” Blazers head coach Micah Nori said to close his press conference with reporters after the game.

Portland is going to need that kind of effort even more from Holiday with Scoot Henderson continuing to struggle and Ja Morant still out for at least another three weeks.

Defensive effort

Holiday has built his reputation on defense, and the Blazers have tried to follow suit over the years under former head coach Chauncey Billups and then interim head coach Tiago Splitter last year.

In the second half against Denver, Holiday and crew truly showed what can be accomplished on that end by this group as they held the Nuggets to just 44 points total in the second half.

Most importantly, the Blazers started to play defense without fouling, sending the Nuggets to the free throw line only eight times in the second half.

“We stopped fouling in the second half, only gave them eight free throws (Jamal) Murray only went to the free throw line twice,” Nori said. “To me, I thought it was a resilient win, I thought everyone who played in the game contributed.”

Not only did they stop fouling, but the Blazers dominated the glass as well with a rebounding margin of 30-14 in the second half and 53-37 for the game.

Donovan Clingan pulled down 18 of them, nine on each side, and helped give Portland 21 offensive boards to Denver’s nine.

And while Clingan led, Holiday grabbing 10 boards from the guard position is exactly what the Blazers need to see out of the smaller bodies moving forward to continue to have success on the glass.

Emotional lead

The veteran truly set the tone on a night filled with early emotions after Portland went down 31-19 and Denver had 26 free throws going into halftime.

But Holiday talked composure before the game and after on the broadcast and how that helped the Blazers stay in the game.

“I think it was a team effort, I don't think it was just me, I think everybody came through and was very composed,” Holiday said. “The way we cleaned up things gradually going into the fourth quarter and then kind of controlling the fourth quarter, it showed will from everybody.”

While everyone may have got in on the fun in the second half to supply the team effort, it started with Holiday being that reliable presence no matter how out of hand the game got.

During that post-game interview, Toumani Camara came over and said that Holiday was the best veteran in the league, and he just might be right.