DENVER – Damian Lillard had 27 points and a season-high nine assists, as the Portland Trail Blazers used a big first half to rout the Denver Nuggets 130-113 on Wednesday night.
The Blazers scored 84 points in the first half, one basket away from matching the team record for a half (86) set against Golden State on Jan. 5, 1986. Portland showed no signs of fatigue, despite expending plenty of energy the night before in coming back from a 23-point deficit to hold off Charlotte at the buzzer.
Robin Lopez scored 15 of his 19 points in the decisive first half. LaMarcus Aldridge usually gives the Nuggets nightmares, but he largely was kept in check, finishing with 12 points. He averaged 28.3 points against Denver last season and had a career-high 44 points in a game.
Ty Lawson had 32 points for the Nuggets, who dropped their sixth consecutive game.
This was the first time all year Nuggets coach Brian Shaw had a full squad at his disposal. It didn’t help. Shaw couldn’t find the right combination to slow down the Blazers, who led 84-50 at the break. That’s quite a first-half explosion, especially considering Indiana beat Miami 81-75 earlier in the night.
On a frigid night outside the Pepsi Center – minus-3 degrees and falling – the Nuggets were just as cold inside. They shot 37.8 percent in the first half, including 1-for-8 from 3-point range, leading to plenty of boos from the sparse crowd.
Denver actually went on a 15-0 run in the third quarter and still trailed by 21 points. Lillard ended any chance of a comeback when he hit back-to-back 3-pointers late in the quarter to restore the big lead.
The game was so lopsided that Portland’s starters were on the bench for the final quarter.
J.J. Hickson had 14 points and 11 rebounds in his second game back. He missed the opening five games of the year, serving a suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program.
