• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Chandler, Nuggets top Trail Blazers in OT

Jan 16, 2013 - 6:14 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Wilson Chandler buried the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14.9 seconds left in overtime to help lift the Denver Nuggets to a 115-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

Chandler, who returned to the Nuggets' lineup on Sunday after missing two months because of a hip injury, finished with 13 points and six rebounds off the bench for Denver, who have won six straight.

Ty Lawson poured in 24 points to go with 12 assists, Kenneth Faried dropped in 21 points and pulled down 11 boards, and Danilo Gallinari finished with 25 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 15-2 at home this season.

"Our confidence level is pretty high. We know that January is very important for us, so our confidence needs to be high through the whole month," said Gallinari.

LaMarcus Aldridge poured in a game-high 28 points to go with eight rebounds and six assists, while Nicolas Batum chipped in with 22 points, seven assists and seven boards and J.J. Hickson scored 19 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have dropped three straight.

Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively, in defeat.

"We've won more than our share of close games. We've lost three close ones, but I don't think our confidence will waver," Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said.

Lawson got things started in the bonus period after using a wicked crossover to get to the hoop for a layup and put the Nuggets up 101-99, but Batum countered with a slam to knot it up on the ensuing possession. Andre Iguodala, who had missed his first four three-point attempts, buried a trey to give Denver a 104-101 advantage.

The teams traded baskets until Hickson sunk a pair from the line to give the Trail Blazers a 107-106 advantage, but Gallinari's 3-ball as the shot clock expired put Denver up, 109-107, with just over a minute left.

Aldridge used a nifty up-and-under move to tie the game, but JaVale McGee's slam on an alley-oop from Lawson gave the Nuggets a 111-109 lead with 39.2 ticks showing.

McGee, though, fouled Aldridge on the Blazers' next trip down the court and the big man sunk a pair from the line to even the score once again.

Denver then let the clock wind down some before Iguodala drove to the hoop and kicked the ball out to Chandler in the left corner, where he buried the triple to put the Nuggets ahead, 114-111.

Lillard's off-balance try in the waning seconds was short and Lawson split a pair of free throws to account for the final margin.

Denver scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to go up 85-76, but Portland countered with a 10-4 run to pull within 89-86 with 5:13 left.

The Nuggets, though, opened up an 8-4 burst to take a 97-90 lead with just over 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation.

Hickson's tip in sparked a 6-0 run, but Lawson ended the drought with a layup at the 45-second mark.

Matthews' 3-ball 13 seconds later tied the game at 99-99 with 32 seconds left and Lillard's shot at the buzzer was no good, sending the game to overtime.

Portland led 35-33 after the first quarter and took a 57-54 lead into the break. Denver, though, outscored the Trail Blazers, 27-19, in the third to take an 81-73 lead into the final period.

Game Notes

Denver outscored Portland, 68-48, in the paint ... The Nuggets scored 22 points off of fastbreaks and held the Blazers to just seven points on the break ... Portland turned it over 19 times, but forced just 10 Denver giveaways ... The Blazers' bench scored just 12 points.