Aldridge, Blazers down Nuggets
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - LaMarcus Aldridge had 32 points and 11 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Denver Nuggets 120-114 on Saturday night.
"He's a great player and put us in tough situations," Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson said of Aldridge.
Former Nugget Arron Afflalo netted 21 points and Nicolas Batum added 15 points and seven assists for Portland, which has won three straight on the heels of a five-game losing streak.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's good to have three in a row on the heels of that losing streak," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "At this stage of the season ... it's good to get one."
Nelson posted 22 points off the bench and Kenneth Faried provided 14 points and 10 boards for the Nuggets, who have dropped five of their last seven games.
After Nelson's layup and 3-pointer cut the Denver deficit to 101-98 with 5:38 left, the Blazers responded with seven straight points to put the game away.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Aldridge hit a jumper and a Batum layup preceded his 3-pointer, which extended Portland's margin to 108-98 with 2:29 left.
Denver never got within less than four the rest of the way.
Earlier, Portland closed the opening frame on a 9-2 spurt to help stake it to a 31-25 advantage following a quarter of play. The Blazers led 58-53 at the break and 86-78 after three.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Game Notes
The Blazers have beaten the Nuggets eight straight times ... Portland was 8- of-18 from beyond the arc and 16-of-18 from the foul line ... The Blazers had a 45-39 rebounding and 52-46 points in the paint advantage.