• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Nuggets seek franchise record 55th win vs. Blazers

Apr 14, 2009 - 6:25 PM By Dan Pieringer Stats Writer

Denver (54-27) at Portland (53-28) 10:30 pm. EDT

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) -- For the first time in 21 years, the Denver Nuggets have secured home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Portland Trail Blazers are still fighting to get it.

The Nuggets look to clinch the second-best record in the Western Conference and set a franchise record with their 55th win Wednesday night when they visit the Trail Blazers, who can guarantee they'll start the postseason at home with a victory.

Denver (54-27) wrapped up the Northwest Division title and at least the No. 3 seed in the West by riding J.R. Smith's career-high 45 points and franchise-record 11 3-pointers to a 118-98 win over Sacramento on Monday night.

"It wasn't really celebration," forward Carmelo Anthony said after the Nuggets' 14th win in 16 games. "We were happy, don't get me wrong. We were excited because once again nobody expected us to win a division. We still got bigger fish to fry. This was just one of the goals we did set at the beginning of the season and we accomplished it."

The Nuggets, who also matched their franchise-record win total set in 1987-88, can secure second place in the conference with a win or a Houston loss at Dallas on Wednesday night.

The Blazers (53-28) could finish with the same record as the Nuggets by winning this game to earn a split of the four-game season series, but Denver would still win the Northwest title because it will finish with a better record within the division.

Though first place in the Northwest is out of reach, the Blazers are battling for the right to start the playoffs at home. With a win over the Nuggets, they can clinch at least the fourth seed. If they lose, they could still get home-court advantage if San Antonio loses at home to New Orleans on Wednesday night.

Rather than deal with the dizzying number of possible outcomes, All-Star guard Brandon Roy boiled the Blazers' outlook down to three sentences.

"One game away. Lots of tiebreakers. We'll see what happens," he said.

Home-court advantage could be particularly useful for the Blazers, who have one of the league's best home records at 33-7 but finished with a losing record on the road at 20-21.

"It's all about looking forward to the next game now," coach Nate McMillan said. "We'll come to play and finish the season strong."

Portland continued its dominance at the Rose Garden with a 113-83 win over Oklahoma City on Monday night, its fifth straight win overall and at home. Roy scored 20 points while going 7-for-10 from the field in 22 minutes, and Travis Outlaw scored 21 and went 9-for-14 while starting in place of rookie forward Nicolas Batum, who's day-to-day with the flu.

Portland has won 18 of 20 at home, where it beat Denver 101-92 on Dec. 23. LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 22 points and Roy added 19. The Nuggets were playing without Anthony, sidelined by a right elbow injury.

Anthony, averaging a team-high 23.0 points, scored 38 in his only game against Portland this season - a 106-90 win in Denver on March 5. He's scored at least 30 in eight of his 20 career meetings with the Blazers, averaging 26.7 overall.

Another big game from Anthony could help make up for Chauncey Billups' struggles against Portland. The All-Star point guard has been held to 15.3 points per game and 31.7 percent shooting (13-for-41) in the season series.