Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #75 Eric Dalen, #13 Monty McCutchen, #23 Jason Phillips
Attendance: 17388
Chauncey Billups had 18 points and nine assists and the Denver Nuggets won without Carmelo Anthony by routing the visiting Portland Trail Blazers, 95-77, on Tuesday.
J.R. Smith scored 17 points and Nene added 17 and seven rebounds as Denver (17-13) ended a three-game losing streak with its first victory since Anthony temporarily left the team due to the death of his sister.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks for Portland (16-16).
Denver led by seven points at halftime before holding Portland to 36 second-half points to win in convincing fashion.
Arron Afflalo scored 15 points and Kenyon Martin added 10 on 5-for-5 shooting for the Nuggets. Chris Andersen matched a season high with 11 rebounds.
Nicolas Batum scored 14 points and Rudy Fernandez added 11 for the Trail Blazers, who were without guard Brandon Roy (knee) and center Marcus Camby (ankle).
| Portland | Denver | |
| LaMarcus Aldridge 18 | Scoring | Chauncey Billups 18 |
| Andre Miller 5 | Assists | Chauncey Billups 9 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge 13 | Rebounds | Chris Andersen 12 |
| Wesley Matthews 3 | Free Throws Made | Nene 5 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge 3 | Steals | Arron Afflalo 3 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge 7 | Blocks | Chris Andersen 2 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Portland | 77 | 40.0 | 6-13 | 7-8 | 17 | 38 | 10 | 9 | 18 |
| Denver | 95 | 45.3 | 6-16 | 21-26 | 22 | 45 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
- Denver will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .714 after a loss.
- Portland will play their next game at home against Utah. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.