Portland Trailblazers win second-straight without Brandon Roy, defeating the Denver Nuggets
The Portland Trailblazers (8-5) won their second-straight game – an 86-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets (6-6) on Thursday 18 November at the Rose Garden in Portland. For the Blazers,
it was their second consecutive victory without Brandon Roy, their leading scorer who has missed Portland’s last two games with a left knee injury. Meanwhile, the Nuggets have dropped four of their last six contests.
The Blazers were led by LaMarcus Aldridge, who recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Wesley Matthews, filling in for the injured Roy, recorded
20 points and pulled down 10 boards. Since filling in for Roy, the rookie out of Marquette has averaged 25 points and seven rebounds over two games. Nicolas Batum had 14 points and six rebounds while point guard Andre Miller scored 16 and dished out six assists.
Marcus Camby, averaging 11.2 rebounds per game, pulled down 14 boards while Rudy Fernandez led all bench scorers with six points.
The Nuggets were led by Carmelo Anthony, fifth in the league in scoring, who finished with 18 points and eight rebounds but only shot 5-for-15 from the field. Arron Afflalo had a double-double
with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Al Harrington, 3-for-7 from deep, had 17 points off the bench. Centre Nene and point guard Chauncey Billups had 12 and 13 points, respectively, in their starting roles.
The first half was tight but featured runs by both teams, with the Nuggets scoring 17 straight unanswered points to end the first quarter and the Blazers going on a 13-2 spurt to begin
the second frame. The Nuggets held a 45-43 lead heading into the break.
Denver took a two-point lead into the final quarter but the Blazers went on a 10-3 run to begin the final frame. Portland’s fourth-quarter lead would get as big as seven down the stretch.
With Anthony fouling out of the game late in the fourth, Afflalo couldn’t connect on two three-pointers in the dying moments of the game that would have tied it.
What they said
Matthews told reporters after the game that he is more than happy with his solid play of late. "Whatever it
takes to help the team win. Everybody has to step up, including me. I love that we won. I love winning. We fought together as a team and got a big-time win tonight."
Batum knows that despite Roy’s absence and the disappointing news that Greg Oden will miss another season as he undergoes knee surgery, they have a deep team. "We've
got a good team with good players so we can still win games."
Denver coach George Karl thought both teams showed a lot of fight on the court. "The intensity and competition
was first class, the defense on both ends was first class. We just hurt ourselves by not rebounding and with a few too many basic turnovers."
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