LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland Trailblazers rally late, defeat the Denver Nuggets 110-105

Jan 23, 2014; Portland, OR, USA; Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) shoots over Denver Nuggets power forward Kenneth Faried (35) in the third quarter at the Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets fall below .500 at (20-21) on the season as they couldn’t hold off the Portland Trailblazers big man LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge went off late in the fourth quarter as the power forward would score 15 fourth-quarter points to seal the deal, 110-105. It would be a career-night for Aldridge as he would score 44 points on 15-of-29 shooting, including 14-of-17 from the charity stripe with 13 rebounds and 5 assists.

Denver looked to be in control of the game as they led 67-59 at the half, and shot 7-of-12 from downtown, but here came the Portland Trailblazers who now improve to 31-11 on the season, including 17-4 at the Moda Center. Wesley Matthews continues to kill the Nuggets as the shooting guard knocked down 8-of-15 shot attempts including two three-pointers to boast 24 points to go along with 4 assists. He and Nicolas Batum burned the Nuggets last time at the Pepsi Center but this time Batum was quiet with 6 points, shooting 1-of-5 from the field while going 0-for-3 from behind-the-arc.

Nuggets all-star hopeful Ty Lawson struggled from the field tonight scoring all of his points in the first half as he went 3-of-11 but would connect on 7 of his 9 free-throw attempts; collecting his fifth-straight double-double with 13 points and 11 assists. Wilson Chandler would score a team-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting while Randy Foye connected on 5-of-10 attempts for 14 points; knocking down 4 three-pointers on 9 attempts. With Darrell Arthur out yet again with a groin injury, Anthony Randolph was a surprise off of the bench as he shot 4-of-5 from the field, 2-of-3 from distance for 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 block.

Denver still struggles to play a complete game as they can’t seem to connect on clutch fourth quarter shots. Knowing that Danilo Gallinari had a second operation on his knee puts the Nuggets in a hole with their go-to scorer out for a longer period of time. Denver was also careless with the ball tonight which could be a factor into why they lost. They would turn the ball over 19 times compared to Portland’s 9. One stat that hurts for Nuggets fans is that Denver shot (39-79), 49.4% percent from the field while the Blazers shot (38-88), 43.2% percent.

The Denver Nuggets (20-21) will head back home to face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. Tip-Off is scheduled for 9:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM MT.