National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Portland 101, Denver 93
When: 10:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 20, 2012
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Officials: #45 Brian Forte, #48 Scott Foster, #44 Eli Roe
Attendance: 19982

Trail Blazers 101, Nuggets 93: Nicolas Batum scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter and host Portland capitalized on Denver's record shooting woes from the perimeter to win its fourth consecutive game.

J.J. Hickson posted his sixth straight double-double with 18 points and 18 rebounds while Wesley Matthews scored 20 points as the Trail Blazers snapped the Nuggers' three-game winning streak and beat them for the sixth straight time in Portland despite playing without leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge.

Ty Lawson, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer scored 13 points apiece for Denver, which set an NBA record by missing on all 22 of its 3-point attempts. That eclipsed the previous 0-for-20 mark held by the Blazers. The Nuggets also managed only one field goal outside the paint, that coming with 38 seconds to play.

Portland jumped out to a 36-18 lead early in the second quarter on three consecutive 3-pointers by Luke Babbitt, but Denver slowly chipped away and whittled the deficit to 71-67 early in the fourth.

Batum had five points during a 7-0 burst to push the lead to 11 with just over 8 1/2 minutes to play. He drilled two more from behind the arc and Babbitt buried another 3-pointer to make it 92-83 with 2 1/2 minutes left.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Babbitt scored a season-high 14 points and tied a career high with his four 3-pointers. ... The Nuggets outscored Portland in the paint 74-28. Denver shot 1-for-32 outside the paint. ... The Trail Blazers tied a season high by connecting on 14 3-pointers on 36 attempts.
Top Game Performances
 
Denver   Portland
Corey Brewer 13 Scoring Nicolas Batum 22
Ty Lawson 8 Assists Damian Lillard 10
Corey Brewer 9 Rebounds J.J. Hickson 18
Corey Brewer 5 Free Throws Made Damian Lillard 5
Corey Brewer 2 Steals Nicolas Batum 1
Kosta Koufos 2 Blocks J.J. Hickson 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Denver 93 38.8 0-22 17-24 20 59 6 5 9
Portland 101 35.9 14-36 21-26 25 50 7 5 11
Upcoming Games
  • Portland will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .545 after a win and .462 after a loss.
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Charlotte. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .462 after a loss.