Trail Blazers 109 - 118 Nuggets
Final
  for this game

Nuggets hand Trail Blazers 11th straight loss

Apr 15, 2013 - 3:54 AM Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Andre Iguodala filled the stat sheet with 28 points, nine assists, seven rebounds, three blocks and three steals in the Denver Nuggets' 118-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Denver set a franchise mark with its 55th win of the year and have won an astounding 22 straight games at the Pepsi Center.

"It's been a really good year for us, but we don't want to get satisfied. We still have work to do," Iguodala said. "We can't just settle for 55 (wins), we have to get 57."

Evan Fournier added 24 points for the Nuggets, who have won six of their last seven tilts and are a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Clippers for the third seed in the Western Conference.

Denver forward Kenneth Faried left the contest during the first quarter with an apparent ankle injury.

Damian Lillard netted 30 points with six assists, but turned the ball over eight times for Portland, which has dropped 11 straight games.

Denver led by as many as 20 late in the second quarter, but the Blazers pulled within 104-101 with 3:33 left after J.J. Hickson split a pair of free throws.

The Nuggets, though, closed the contest on a 14-8 swing.

Eric Maynor hit 1-of-2 from the strike to trim the margin to 106-102, but Ty Lawson sunk two free throws and Fournier nailed a 3-pointer to up the advantage to 111-102.

Portland got as close as six the rest of the way.

The Nuggets jumped on the Blazers in the opening frame. After Lillard's layup pulled Portland within 22-16, Denver finished the quarter on a 15-5 run. JaVale McGee and Iguodala netted four points apiece during the surge and Iguodala's dunk with three seconds left in the stanza vaulted the hosts to a 37-21 advantage.

Two Anthony Randolph free throws with 21 seconds left in the second gave Denver its largest lead at 67-47 before it took a 67-50 cushion into the break and an 89-78 edge after three.

A 12-2 Portland burst during the middle stages of the fourth got the Blazers within 100-96.

Game Notes

Hickson finished with 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists ... Denver tallied 32 points off 23 Portland turnovers ... The Nuggets held a 62-44 points in the paint advantage.






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