----- Damian Lillard scored 45 points and dished out 12 assists as the Portland Trail Blazers improve to 3-1 in Orlando with a 125-115 win over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.
Damian Lillard was not going to be denied on Thursday night!
Lillard scored 45 points and dished out 12 assists and Gary Trent Jr. added 27 points off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting from three-point range as the Trail Blazers pulled to within a half game of 8th place in the Western Conference with a 125-115 win over the Denver Nuggets Thursday night in Orlando.
Lillard's 45-points was the most he has scored against the Nuggets in his career, and his 12 assists matched a career-high.
The Nuggets took a 106-105 lead with 5:38 to play on a bucket by PJ Dozier, but the Blazers responded with a 20-9 run to close the game with big shots down the stretch by Lillard, Trent, and Jusuf Nurkic.
Nurkic finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists against his former team including an electric highlight in the first half when he dunked on rookie Bol Bol bringing the Blazers' bench to their feet.
Playing in the second of a back-to-back, Denver Coach Michael Malone elected to rest a number of his players including Troy Daniels, Jamal Murray, and Paul Milsap.
Knowing Denver wouldn't be at full strength, the Blazers wanted to make sure they didn't take anything for granted.
“They had guys out and you can’t come out and think you’re going to win," Lillard said. "You have to come out and be present. I don’t care who is out there, we have to come out and play like everybody’s out there because it means more to us than it means to them. And that was my mentality.”
Behind the hot shooting from Lillard and Trent, the Trail Blazers connected on a franchise-best 23-of-39 from three-point range.
The win moved Portland to within a half game of the Memphis Grizzlies for 8th place in the Western Conference and 1.5 games ahead of both the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs with four-games left to play.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and Jerami Grant scored 18 points to lead the Nuggets.
Notes- Friday is the eighth anniversary of Portland hiring Terry Stotts to coach the team. Only San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, Miami's Erik Spoelstra and Dallas' Rick Carlisle have held their current NBA job longer than Stotts' stint with the Blazers.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers will meet the Los Angeles Clippers Saturday morning in Orlando. The game is scheduled to tip off at 10:00 AM.
Chad's Take- Anything short of the playoffs at this point, will be a major disappointment.