Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-best 34 points and collected 12 rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 127-112 victory over the host Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Nikola Jokic had 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting and added 15 rebounds and 14 assists for his 17th triple-double of the season and 122th of his career. Collin Gillespie added a career-high 18 points for the Nuggets, who won their second straight game following a three-game skid.
Denver cruised despite playing without Jamal Murray (shin splints).
Jerami Grant scored 25 points, Deandre Ayton added 22 points and 10 rebounds and Anfernee Simons had 21 points and eight assists for the Trail Blazers, who lost their seventh straight game.
Dalano Banton added 14 points for Portland, which played without rookie Scoot Henderson (adductor).
Porter made 13 of 21 shots, including 5 of 10 from 3-point range, as Denver shot 58.8 percent overall and was 13 of 33 from long range.
Portland connected on 45.5 percent of its shots and was 8 of 25 from behind the arc. Ayton made 11 of 17 shots.
The Nuggets led 71-52 after Porter drained a jumper with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter. The Trail Blazers answered with an 11-3 push to move within 11 on Kris Murray’s dunk with 6:43 left.
Portland later trailed by 10 before Denver went on a 15-4 burst. Peyton Watson capped it with a hoop to make it 93-72 with one minute left in the period.
The Nuggets led 95-77 entering the final stanza before elevating the lead to 105-83 on Porter’s 3-pointer with 8:05 left. Jokic scored on a layup with 2:26 left to again make it a 22-point lead, and he promptly exited the contest.
Porter scored 22 first-half points and Jokic added 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as Denver held a 63-48 lead at the break. Grant scored 15 in the half for the Trail Blazers.
Portland scored seven straight points early in the second quarter to trail by one before the Nuggets answered with a 14-2 surge to take a 44-31 lead with 5:47 left in the half. Denver led by 17 late in the half.
–Field Level Media