PORTLAND –– On the penultimate day of 2015, it was colder in Portland than it was in the North Pole.
The Denver Nuggets visited the Blazers for Portland’s final home game of the year. And as the Blazers approach the final day of 2015, Damian Lillard and his injured left foot remain on ice, left to pop open on another occasion.
But thanks again to another stellar performance from his backcourt buddy CJ McCollum, the Blazers have reason to celebrate again after a 110-103 victory over the Nuggets.
The win is Portland’s third straight, matching their previous season-long win streak.
Before the game, the Blazers were shown film of their loss in November to the Nuggets.
“We didn’t move the ball and we didn’t execute down the stretch,” Blazers big man Meyers Leonard said. “Tonight, we had some mistakes but I thought we did a much better job.”
The Nuggets got the game within five after trailing by 16 in the fourth quarter but with the pre-game lesson in their heads, the Blazers avoided a late-game collapse for the second straight game, tying their previous season-long win streak at three games.
“We didn’t do a good job moving the ball to the second side of the floor,” McCollum said. “Tonight we did a better job of sharing. The roll men did a good job of getting the ball to the other side and I read the helper, whether to skip it or drop it off to the big.”
One game after scoring 35 points and coming one assist short of a triple-double, McCollum had 29 points, four assists and three rebounds.
“I like how he’s scoring without necessarily forcing the issue,” head coach Terry Stotts said. “I think he’s picking his spots well, he’s running the team well. He’s playing with a lot of composure, not only as a scorer but as a point guard.”
But McCollum’s play, as well as that of Allen Crabbe, and Moe Harkless off the bench, is making it easier for Lillard to comeback when the time is right.
The two-time All-Star missed his fifth straight game Wednesday, though it looks as though he’s getting closer to returning. He ramped up the intensity in his pre-game workout a day after participating in some full speed drills in practice Tuesday.
Crabbe had 20 points and five rebounds while Harkless scored in double-figures off the bench for the second straight game.
The game carried with it some level of importance in the lower rungs of the Western Conference playoff race, where both teams find themselves with a chance of sneaking in to the playoffs.
Emmanuel Mudiay and Danilo Gallinari, two of Denver’s starters have been out for some time.
In fact, the Nuggets probably came into the game with more of a disadvantage, playing their fourth game in five nights.
The Nuggets have also been without starting swingman Wilson Chandler for the entire season.
Former Blazer Will Barton has been a major reason, if not the biggest reason, that the Nuggets are competitive. He’s averaging 15.8 points per game, which is the second-highest average for a bench player in the NBA.
Barton led the Nuggets with 31 points, five rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes.
After the Nuggets did a good job denying him the ball early, McCollum resumed his dominance of opposing teams.
He scored 11 first quarter points, but the most impressive part of Portland’s first half was how they were able to create a lead with McCollum on the bench.
The Blazers outscored the Nuggets 20-11 in the first 7:02 of the 2nd quarter with McCollum out of the game.
Moe Harkless was active again after playing one of his better games of the season in Sunday’s win over Sacramento.
Towards the end of the first half, Harkless swatted Kenneth Faried at the rim on one end and then set up Allen Crabbe for a lay-up in transition on Portland’s last offensive possession of the half.
The Crabbe lay-up put the Blazers up 58-51 at halftime.
Harkless had 12 points and played 26 minutes, including nearly the entire fourth quarter, which was the most of any Blazers reserve.
“Whether it’s Sacramento or here, at the four, he’s strong, he can rebound, he can defend that position,” Stotts said of Harkless. “The first half he was guarding Faried. He held his own with Faried as a four. He guarded perimeter guys in the second half. The last two games, the match-ups have been favorable for us and for him.”
The Blazers continued their excellence as the Nuggets appeared to be out of their depth.
Portland had more balance offensively — with 22 assists — more places they could go to find success in that respect.
For Denver, it seemed that only Barton had the juice to create quality shots and find seams in the Blazers defense.
After being in control for most of the game, the Blazers got loose with it midway through the fourth quarter.
The Blazers led by as much as 16 with eight minutes left, but the Nuggets cut the Blazers lead to five a couple of time outs.
But nothing else came of it as the Blazers answered their runs after each timeout.
