Blazers vs. Nuggets – Hot Live Blog Action

Live from the Moda Center as the Portland Trail Blazers host the Denver Nuggets.

The Blazers return home after a short, disappointing road trip to Los Angeles. After jumping out to an early lead against the Clippers, a silly foul by LaMarcus Aldridge and a questionable no call on DeAndre Jordan ultimately downed Portland late. There are more embarrassing things than losing an early matinee against a hungry Clippers team, though—I mean, did you see Big Baby freaking out on Blake Griffin?!

Tonight is Portland’s first back to back of the season, and it’s coming against a tough divisional opponent. (/checks standings) Oh, well then, apparently the Northwest Division is a hot pile of garbage. The Blazers are in first place with a 3-3 record, and at 1-4, the Nuggets somehow aren’t even in last place. Yikes.

The Nuggets have lost four in a row by a combined 47 points. With former Blazer JJ Hickson and his terrible defense returning tonight from a five game suspension, Denver is in danger of losing this game by 47.

PRE-GAME:
The Blazers are only playing .500 ball, but they’re ranked in the top ten in both offensive and defensive rating. Only the Houston Rockets, out to one of the best starts in the league, can also make that claim. It’s an encouraging sign, and once Portland’s schedule eases up (they’ve had the third-toughest go of things so far), the wins should hopefully follow.

The Nuggets, meanwhile, are in the bottom ten in both offensive and defensive rating. Denver was ravaged by injuries last season, and with a lot of their players finally getting healthy it seemed like they might battle for a playoff spot. Yeah…not so much. This team is an absolute mess. But hey, at least they know how to use Reddit!

The Blazers are wearing “Sandy” shirts during warmups in honor of Sandra Zickefoose, the fan who passed away after collapsing at the game on Thursday night. There will also be a moment of silence before the game, and a single red rose is on her season seat right in front of me. What a tragedy.

FIRST QUARTER:
11:34 – The Nuggets start with Ty Lawson on Wesley Matthews, so of course Matthews took him right to the post. Easy money. 2-0 Blazers.

8:47 – Kenneth Faried has that Team USA swag going on—that chase down block on a layup attempt from Matthews was nasty. He swatted it off the glass so hard it started an easy fast break on the other end. 7-6 Nuggets.

7:16 – Apparently Arron Afflalo is as bad at trying to spell his first name as he is trying to guard Matthews in the post. 14-7 Blazers.

6:22 – JJ Hickson received a smattering of applause when he checked in, not because of his former time here but because fans know that there are about to be a million wide open lanes to the rim. 14-12 Blazers.

4:18 – It only took six tries, with five offensive rebounds in between, but the Blazers were finally able to capitalize on that possession. The crowd erupted after Matthews connected from distance, and Matthews just sort of shrugged off all the other misses. 19-17 Blazers.

4:00 – Aldridge passed up a wide open fifteen footer to kick it back to Dame who was also wide open, but Dame was behind the arc. Three is greater than two. Swish. 22-18 Blazers.

1:51 – Ty Lawson with four points in two seconds. He raced down the court after an Aldridge make and scored at the rim, then stole the inbound pass and laid it in with ease. 26-25 Blazers.

1:00 – Chris Kaman just put JaVale McGee in a spin cycle, picking up the basket and one. Those were some nifty post moves from someone who looks like he has trouble running. 31-25 Blazers.

0:50 – So it’s the Chris Kaman show, then. That’s seven straight for the big man. Carry on. 33-25 Blazers.

0:00 – Just like yesterday, it’s another huge first quarter for the Blazers. If they can ratchet up the defense a bit more, this one could be over real quick. 36-27 Blazers.

SECOND QUARTER:
9:52 – So much for this one being done early. The Blazers haven’t scored this quarter, already have four personal fouls, and Denver is on a 7-0 run. 36-34 Blazers.

9:03 – It took Matthews all of two seconds to end that run. Two seconds after checking in, he connected from distance. 39-34 Blazers.

6:56 – Matthews is carrying this team right now. He leads all scorers with thirteen (nobody else is even in double figures), and that last step back three was just plain nasty. 44-39 Blazers.

4:58 – Matthews hit the deck hard to corral an offensive rebound, and the crowd let him know that his hustle was appreciated. Portland got back into their offensive set, and Matthews then found Aldridge for an automatic open twenty footer. 50-43 Blazers.

4:31 – Denver needs time after, you guessed it, Matthews drained another three. 53-43 Blazers.

2:44 – I promise I’ll mention another player soon, but Matthews we’re not even to the end of the second quarter and Matthews has already jacked up ten three-point attempts. Ten! It’s not like the Nuggets are trying to give him that shot, either, as he’s drained four of them. 57-47 Blazers.

0:00 – Well, that was a sequence. Portland turned it over on their final possession of the quarter, giving the Nuggets ten seconds and a final look of their own. Dame fouled Lawson, but Lawson missed both freebies. Portland raced down the court with just seconds remaining, and Lillard found Matthews in the corner for an open three. Another? Sure, why not? 64-56 Blazers.

THIRD QUARTER:
10:08 – Aldridge missed a turnaround jumper over Faried—Portland’s fifth-straight miss to open the quarter—but Batum was able to grab the offensive rebound. LaMarcus drifted to the corner behind the three-point line, caught the pass from Nico, and…bang. 67-61 Blazers.

8:14 – Lawson chucked such a pretty outlet pass to a streaking Faried. They must have watched the Broncos game today for inspiration. 69-63 Blazers.

6:03 – They might have credited one of those to Batum, but Robin Lopez just blocked three shots in a row. Off of the last one, Batum pulled up for three in transition without an ounce of hesitation. Nothing but net. 73-64 Blazers.

5:24 – Faried tried to flop—about the only option he has at guarding Aldridge—but the refs didn’t call it. LaMarcus steadied himself and hit from the baseline with ease. Denver needs time. 75-64 Blazers.

3:32 – Kaman with a huge block on JaVale McGee at the rim, and Steve Blake rewarded him on the other end by finding him for an open foul line jumper. 77-67 Blazers.

2:28 – CJ McCollum for three! The Blazers are getting some nice run here in the third from their bench. 80-67 Blazers.

0:00 – The Blazers were so close to ending this one—Matthews picked Danilo Gallinari’s pocket on one end, but his back breaking three juuuuust rimmed out on the other. A quick run to start the fourth and Denver might just roll over. This one feels close to done. 85-73 Blazers.

FOURTH QUARTER:
11:08 – Yep, just like that. Joel Freeland is in the game and is already making his impact felt, stripping the ball away from McGee and dunking it off the breakaway. 89-75 Blazers.

9:59 – Portland’s passing, man. Four passes around the perimeter in the blink of an eye, and CJ McCollum had himself an open look from distance. If the bench squad can keep it up, the starters are probably done for tonight. 93-78 Blazers.

8:26 – Huh, Dame is back in the ball game. Didn’t think we would see that again, but he just picked up assist number seven by finding Blake for an open triple. 96-79 Blazers.

7:13 – Little dust up here between Kenneth Faried and Steve Blake. Faried hit an unsuspecting Blake (his back was turned) with a solid screen. Blake took exception and straight trucked Faried, knocking dude to the ground like it wasn’t a thing. Blake got called for the flagrant, but it was probably worth it for the cheer that replayed elicited—the crowd just ate it up. 95-85 Blazers.

6:26 – Uh oh. Nervous time here in the Moda Center, as Denver is showing signs of life with a little 9-0 run. And here comes Aldridge and Batum off the bench. 96-88 Blazers.

4:11 – Maybe Matthews should just stick to threes—he uncharacteristically shanked two free throws here late. 100-90 Blazers.

2:49 – Don’t let the fans headed towards the exits fool you—it’s not over quite yet. Faried had an amazing block on a Robin Lopez dunk attempt, and Lawson was able to leak out into transition and score an easy layup. 102-94 Blazers.

2:28 – Okay, now it’s over. Matthews blocked Lawson on one end—their eleventh as a team tonight!—and Lillard capitalized on the other by hitting a a nice up and under reverse layup. 106-94 Blazers.

1:00 – Uh oh. Batum is hurt. He had to be helped off the court by two trainers, and is headed straight for the locker room. And it what was more or less garbage time. I didnt’ see what happened, but if that was anything more than a stinger / mild sprain / etc, I’m going to cry 88 tears tonight. 111-98 Blazers.

FINAL: 116-100 Blazers. This one was never really in doubt, despite some friskiness late by Denver. The win was great, but let’s just hope that Batum is okay going forward.