LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 24 points and added 10 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers erased an early deficit and held on for an 86-83 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

The Blazers (8-5) trailed 28-16 after one quarter but rallied in the second, facing a two-point hole at halftime. Andre Miller finally put Portland ahead for good with a layup early in the fourth quarter, part of a game-changing 9-0 run that saw Denver (6-6) go nearly five minutes without a point.

Denver had two chances to send the game to overtime, but Chauncey Billups missed a 3-pointer with eight seconds left and Ty Lawson's last-second 3 was blocked by Wesley Matthews.

Matthews added 20 points and 10 rebounds in the victory while Marcus Camby chipped in with 14 boards and three blocks.

Carmelo Anthony led the way with 18 points for Denver while Al Harrington had 17 and Aaron Afflalo added 16 points and 11 rebounds.