Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets
· National Basketball AssociationLillard's 11 3's lift rising Portland past Denver, 125-115
If it was a slump, it seems to be over now.
Lillard tied his franchise record with 11 3-pointers and scored 45 points, and the Portland Trail Blazers moved closer to the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference by beating the Denver Nuggets 125-115 on Thursday night.
"We haven't been playing games, a lot of live action, and it just takes time," said Lillard, who was 10 for 30 on 3's in Portland's first three games at Walt Disney World. "But it felt good. I knew eventually it would click."
Gary Trent Jr. had 27 off the bench and Jusuf Nurkic scored 22 for Portland.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Denver (45-24), which remained in the West's No. 3 spot. The Nuggets played most of the fourth quarter with reserves on the floor, limiting Nikola Jokic to 24 minutes.
"I thought our second-half effort was tremendous," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "I thought our guys competed. ... (Portland was) playing for their playoff lives with all their starters in, we've got guys who haven't played a lot of minutes in the NBA and we're giving them all they can handle."
Lillard is the second player to have multiple games with at least 10 3-pointers this season, Houston's James Harden being the other. Lillard had 11 3's against Golden State on Jan. 20, the night he scored an NBA season-high 61 points.
"Obviously, he had an outstanding game scoring the ball, assists ... but more than anything else, his leadership tonight, his will to win was palpable," Portland coach Terry Stotts said of Lillard. "You could just feel it, how important this was to him."
TIP-INS
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
Friday is the eighth anniversary of Portland hiring 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.
HOT START
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Face the L.A. Clippers on Saturday.
Nuggets: Face Utah on Saturday.
---
Regular Season Series
DEN wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 125 - 115 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 125 - 115 |
| 4th 13.9 |  |
Zach Collins defensive rebound | 125 - 115 |
| 4th 14.7 |  |
PJ Dozier misses 27-foot step back jumpshot | 125 - 115 |
| 4th 31.6 | |
Damian Lillard makes 3-foot two point shot | 125 - 115 |
Statistics
 POR |
 DEN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 43-92 | FG | 44-84 |
| 47 | Field Goal % | 52 |
| 23-39 | 3PT | 14-28 |
| 59 | Three Point % | 50 |
| 16-20 | FT | 13-17 |
| 80 | Free Throw % | 76 |
| 48 | Rebounds | 49 |
| 13 | Offensive Rebounds | 11 |
| 26 | Defensive Rebounds | 33 |
| 30 | Assists | 30 |
| 7 | Steals | 5 |
| 6 | Blocks | 4 |
| 9 | Turnovers | 16 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 9 | Total Turnovers | 16 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 14 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 24 |
| 5 | Fast Break Points | 6 |
| 32 | Points in Paint | 52 |
| 18 | Fouls | 22 |
| 14 | Largest Lead | 8 |
Denver Nuggets Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Jalen Pickett, G | Out | Feb 21 |
| Peyton Watson, G | Out | Feb 6 |
| Aaron Gordon, F | Out | Jan 29 |
| Tamar Bates, G | Out | Dec 22 |
Portland Trail Blazers Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Deni Avdija, F | Day-To-Day | Feb 22 |
| Shaedon Sharpe, G | Out | Feb 21 |
| Damian Lillard, G | Out | Feb 14 |
Game Information
Location: Lake Buena Vista, FL
Capacity:
2025-26 Northwest Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Oklahoma City |
44 | 14 | .759 | - | W2 |
 Denver |
36 | 22 | .621 | 8 | L1 |
 Minnesota |
35 | 23 | .603 | 9 | L1 |
 Portland |
28 | 30 | .483 | 16 | W1 |
 Utah |
18 | 39 | .316 | 25.5 | L2 |
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