Trail Blazers forward Zach Collins dunks next to Nuggets center Nikola Jokic.

PORTLAND — Short of a championship parade, all fans can ask of their team is to leave them with memories.

Gosh, haven’t the Trail Blazers done that? Every Blazers fan I know will remember where they were when Damian Lillard buried that 37-footer and waved goodbye to the Thunder. They’ll remember how they spent each of the four overtimes in Game 3 against the Nuggets, and if they happened to fall asleep, they’ll spend the rest of their lives pretending they didn’t.

Win or lose, Blazer fans won’t forget what happens in Game 7 on Sunday, just like they won’t forget Thursday’s 119-108 victory in Game 6.

The question is whether the Blazers have one more epic finish left in them. That feels like what it will take, doesn’t it? I’m not sure how they’ll top what they’ve already done, but if Lillard knocks out the Nuggets from halfcourt in the sixth OT, we’ll know this is a team of destiny.

I’m not saying the Blazers need a miracle, though they wouldn’t complain about a little luck. That’s usually what it takes to win a Game 7 on the other team’s home floor, as the Blazers must do if they want to hear the Moda Center roar again this season.

One thing is clear: If Game 7 turns into a battle of the benches, Portland will have a huge edge. While Nuggets coach Mike Malone was vowing not to lose faith in his reserves, Blazers coach Terry Stotts was explaining why he couldn’t take his off the floor.

Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 62 points but also ceded the spotlight to reserves Zach Collins and Rodney Hood for long stretches of Thursday’s game. For a team that leans heavily on its two sharp-shooting stars, that was a welcome sight.

“I thought it was a pretty easy decision,” Stotts said. “The impact Rodney had in the first half was clear. I thought Zach had the same impact in both halves defensively. The bottom line, that group was going well. I didn’t want to screw it up.”

Hood scored 25 points and left the court to chants of “Rod-ney, Rod-ney.” Collins scored 14 points, blocked five shots and showed why the Blazers picked him in the first round after his freshman season at Gonzaga.

“He’s going to lead the NBA in blocks in the future, for sure,” McCollum said.

Collins doesn’t run from a fight. His willingness to go nose-to-nose with Denver’s Nikola Jokic has been one of the most encouraging developments of this series.

Collins spent most of Thursday night leaning on Jokic, making sure nothing came easy. When the teams started pushing and shoving in the fourth quarter, you could sense Denver’s frustration boiling over.

“I always had that competitive edge,” Collins said, sporting a scratch on his forehead after the game. “I’ve had it at every single level I’ve played at, and it hasn’t changed.”

These are good times to be a Portland fan, partly because you can look to the future and imagine more runs like this one. There were years when the Blazers were eliminated and you wondered how they could possibly close the gap with the best teams in the Western Conference.

This year feels different. If the Blazers win Game 7, they’ll face either the Rockets or the Warriors in the Western Conference finals. With Kevin Durant’s status uncertain, you’d like Portland’s chances of playing a competitive series against either team.

If the Blazers lose, they’ll enter the offseason with more reasons for optimism than any Portland team in years. Their best players keep getting better, and their young players keep getting older. When you imagine this team a year or two from now, it’s hard not to be bullish about their future.

Is it greedy to think they can fast-track that future for right now? Not if the Blazers get another game like this one from their bench, which outscored the Nuggets’ by a 42-13 margin.

As impressive as it was, here’s a hunch: The Nuggets won’t let Hood or Collins beat them in a Game 7. This is Lillard Time, even though Lillard Time will be appearing in a Game 7 for the first time in his career.

After his heroics in the Oklahoma City series, Lillard entered Thursday’s game shooting 11-for-44 from 3-point range against the Nuggets. He was 6-for-13 in Game 6, locked in the way we’re used to seeing him.

If Lillard has another miracle in his back pocket, Game 7 would be a good time to pull it out.

“It’s basically a game where only one team is going to make it out,” Lillard said. “It’s your last opportunity to play.”

Those are the games you don’t forget.