PORTLAND, Ore. – LaMarcus Aldridge scored 28 points and the Portland Trail Blazers handed the Denver Nuggets their fifth straight loss with a 116-100 victory on Sunday night.
Wesley Matthews added 21 for the Blazers, who have won three of their last four.
Ty Lawson had 18 points for Denver after missing the team's 110-101 loss at home to Cleveland on Friday night because of a sore left ankle. Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 19 points.
Portland was coming off a 106-102 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles the day before but showed no sign of fatigue, leading by 17 points in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets closed to 102-94 on Lawson's driving layup with 3:11 left, but Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer that extended it to 111-98 with just over a minute left to seal it.
Denver also saw the return of J.J. Hickson, who finished serving his five-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy. Coach Brian Shaw said Hickson's minutes would be limited because the forward was coming off March surgery to repair a torn ACL.
The Nuggets were without reserve forward Darrell Arthur, who was suspended for a game without pay for shoving Cleveland guard Dion Waiters in the back as he went up for a first-quarter layup. Arthur was ejected.
Aldridge put the Blazers up 55-43 in the first half with a 21-foot jumper. But the Nuggets pulled back into the game, closing to 59-54 on Timofey Mozgov's dunk.
Matthews hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 64-56 going into the break. Matthews had 19 points in the first half.
Aldridge's 15-footer gave the Blazers a 75-64 lead midway through the third quarter and Denver never threatened.
The game got chippy in the fourth quarter. Denver's Kenneth Faried appeared to shove Blazers guard Steve Blake, who turned around and pushed Faried to the ground. Players from both teams jumped in to separate the two, and Blake was given a flagrant foul after a review.
Portland forward Nicolas Batum rolled his right ankle and left the game late in the fourth quarter.
TIP INS
Nuggets: Coach Brian Shaw was asked before the game about whether he planned to double-team LaMarcus Aldridge, who was averaging 22 points. "Everybody knows I don't like to double team," he said "I might have to get over my own stubbornness."
Trail Blazers: Before the game the Trail Blazers wore shirts emblazoned with the name Sandy in honor of season ticketholder Sandra Zickefoose, who passed away last Thursday after she collapsed during the fourth quarter of the Blazers' game against Dallas. A single rose rested on her seat at the Moda Center, and the Blazers held a moment of silence.
UP NEXT
The Nuggets host the Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Trail Blazers host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.