LaMarcus Aldridge had 39 points and 11 rebounds while shooting an efficient 16 out of 30 from the field to lead the Portland Trail Blazers over the Denver Nuggets, 105-103. Damian Lillard added 17 points and six assists, while Wesley Matthews chipped in with 15 markers for the Blazers, who were trailing by as many as 10 points early in the fourth.
Lillard was in foul trouble, committing his fifth foul early in the fourth which coincidentally helped ignite a Nuggets run. Robin Lopez chalked up with 11 points, which included a game winning layup that he scored with 1.3 seconds to play in the game. Steve Blake added 13 points off the bench, while Nicolas Batum contributed with a game-high 13 assists for the Blazers.
Ty Lawson and Wilson Chandler each recorded double-double performances. Lawson finished the game with 24 points and 12 assists, while Chandler registered 18 markers and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who are coming off a close victory in Utah.
Arron Afflalo added 18 and J.J. Hickson tallied 11 points for the Nuggets, who limited the Blazers to only four fast break points while scoring 11 on the other end. Danilo Gallinari was held to nine points by the tough Blazer defense. He went one out of four from three-point country after missing a potential game winner at the buzzer, which sealed the faith for Denver.
The Nuggets led for the most part of this game, going up as much as 14 points at one point, but they were unable to hang on to their lead very late in the fourth quarter.
The Portland Trail Blazers improve to an impressive 14-4 win-loss card, while the Denver Nuggets fall to .500 with a 9-9 record.
The Nuggets will get a few days off before playing the Washington Wizards on Friday, December 5. The Blazers, meanwhile, will be back in action on Thursday, December 4.