DENVER – The Portland Trail Blazers (15-21) are undefeated in 2016, beating the Denver Nuggets (12-23) 112-106 in the Mile High City Sunday night. The weekend victory marks 10 wins for the Trail Blazers in their last 11 meetings with the Nuggets. It was Portland’s seventh-straight game without two-time All-Star point guard Damian Lillard as he nurses plantar fasciitis in his left heel.
The Blazers shot 51% from the field, including 43% from behind the arch to move to 4-1 over their last five games.
CJ McCollum set the tone early, scoring 18 points in the first half to give Portland a 61-56 lead at the intermission. The 6-3 combo guard would finish with 25 points and seven assists to continue his standout play at point guard in Lillard’s absence. McCollum joins Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Washington’s John Wall and Lillard as the only NBA players with four straight games with 25 points on at least 50% percent shooting this season.
After a strong Denver start, the third quarter saw the hosts jump to a seven-point lead, but Portland’s 13-0 run left the contest tied at 80 to enter the fourth. Swingman Allen Crabbe added 11 of his 14 points to help the Trail Blazers pull away in the final stanza and seal the road victory. Gerald Henderson and Maurice Harkless combined for 28 points to provide firepower off the bench.
In his second game returning from an ankle injury, Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari led the home team with a game-high 29 points and five rebounds. Former Trail Blazer Will Barton was held to just five points after scoring 21, 31 and 29 in his last three games, respectively.
In a quick turnaround, the Trail Blazers return home to Moda Center on Monday night to host the Memphis Grizzlies to begin a January home slate that includes 10 games in Rip City for the month.
