Nene collected 22 points and 10 rebounds and Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points as the Denver Nuggets bounced back from two straight losses with a 109-90 home victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.
Chauncey Billups chipped in 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting and J.R. Smith scored 16 off the bench for the Nuggets, who shot 52 percent (40-of-77) from the floor and dominated on the glass, 48-33.
Coming off Monday's win over league-leading San Antonio, Portland hung around in the first half thanks to 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range and 17 points from Wesley Matthews. The Blazers took a 46-45 lead into the locker room when Andre Miller hit a baseline jumper as the clock ran out.
But the second half belonged to Denver, as Billups hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points in the third quarter to help take control. The Nuggets stretched it out in the fourth period, getting seven straight points from Nene and another 3-pointer from Billups during a 15-4 burst that put away the game.
Matthews scored 19 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 and nine rebounds for Portland, which began a stretch of six of seven on the road.
Portland | Denver | |
Wesley Matthews 19 | Scoring | Nene 22 |
Andre Miller 10 | Assists | Chauncey Billups 5 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 9 | Rebounds | Nene 10 |
Andre Miller 5 | Free Throws Made | Carmelo Anthony 6 |
Wesley Matthews 3 | Steals | Al Harrington 2 |
LaMarcus Aldridge 3 | Blocks | Nene 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Portland | 90 | 42.7 | 9-17 | 17-24 | 26 | 33 | 8 | 7 | 16 |
Denver | 109 | 51.9 | 8-20 | 21-26 | 19 | 48 | 1 | 8 | 14 |