PORTLAND, Ore. -- It turned into a scoring contest between a pair of former teammates.

In the end, Denver guard Will Barton won the battle, but Portland guard CJ McCollum won the war.

Barton came off the bench to score 31 points, but McCollum tallied 29 to lead the Trail Blazers past the Nuggets 110-103 Wednesday night at the Moda Center.

"A lot of the NBA is getting opportunities," Portland forward Ed Davis said. "Both of those guys are making the most of theirs right now."

McCollum and Barton were reserves in the Portland backcourt together for a season and a half before Barton was sent to the Nuggets in February in a trade that brought guard Arron Afflalo to the Blazers.

Barton has blossomed with the Nuggets, while McCollum has become a starter in his third NBA season -- first as a shooting guard, but at point guard the past five games with Damian Lillard out due to with plantar fasciitis.

It was McCollum leading the way Wednesday, knocking down 12 of 19 shots from the field, including three of six from 3-point range, as the Trail Blazers (14-20) won their third straight game.

"I like how he is scoring without forcing the issue," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "He is picking his spots well; he is running the team well. He is playing with a lot of composure and confidence, not only as a scorer but as a point guard."

McCollum led six Blazers scoring in double figures, a group that included guard Allen Crabbe with 20 points. Forward Al-Farouq Aminu collected 14 points and nine rebounds, and center Mason Plumlee contributed 13 points, seven boards, four assists and three blocked shots for Portland.

Barton, who played the previous three seasons with Portland, was 12-for-22 from the field, including 4-for-6 on 3-point attempts, for the Nuggets (12-21), who have lost seven of their past eight. Guard Gary Harris added 19 points.

McCollum scored 17 points to stake Portland to a 58-51 lead at halftime. Barton tallied 15 first-half points on 7-for-11 shooting.

Crabbe sank consecutive 3-pointers and Plumlee scored on a drive to increase the Blazers' edge to 74-60 midway through the third quarter. Portland's lead was 84-71 heading into the final period.

The Nuggets cut it to 84-76, but the Blazers used a 12-4 spurt to make it 96-80. Denver answered with a 11-0 run to trim the gap to 96-91 with 5:57 to go.

Plumlee sank a pair at the line to hike Portland's lead to 100-93 with 2:59 to play. Crabbe's 3-pointer upped the margin to 103-93 with 2:41 left. The Nuggets trimmed it to 105-100 on Harris' trey with 39 seconds remaining, but that was as close as they were to get.

"We were able to get back and cut it to five, and with a couple of breaks, it could have gotten more interesting," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "But we gave them 21 points off turnovers, and we defended poorly most of the game."

Stotts was just happy with the results.

"Overall, it was a good game for us," he said. "We had different areas we struggled with throughout the night, but we bounced back (whenever) something wasn't going right. I liked the way we finished. It's good to get three in a row."

NOTES: Portland G Damian Lillard (plantar fasciitis) missed his fifth consecutive game. ... Blazers F Ed Davis returned to action after missing Tuesday's win at Sacramento with a sprained ankle, and he contributed three points and three rebounds in 16 reserve minutes. ... Denver was without G Emmanuel Mudiay (ankle) for the 10th consecutive game, while F Danilo Gallinari (ankle) sat out his sixth game in a row. "There's a chance Galli could play our next game (at home Saturday against Golden State)," coach Michael Malone said. "Emmanuel is further out. He's probably going to be another seven to 10 days." Malone said C Jusuf Nurkic, who has missed the entire season after patellar tendon surgery, could also return for the game against the Warriors. ... Denver was playing its fourth game in five nights, three of them on the road. "If you start talking about, 'Hey, we're tired,' the guys will buy into it," Malone said. "When we played Cleveland (on Tuesday), they were playing their fourth in five nights, and they didn't show much fatigue."