Portland, OR (Sports Network) - Carmelo Anthony scored 19 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, as Denver went into the Rose Garden and stole a 97-94 decision from the Trail Blazers.
Oden Falters On Late Free Throws, Blazers Fall To The Nuggets, 97-94
Free throws decided the game, with Anthony hitting 18 of the Nuggets' 38 against their Northwest Division rival. Greg Oden stepped to the stripe with Portland trailing, 95-94, with 4.6 seconds remaining and bricked both attempts to seal the loss.
“I definitely stepped up there with confidence, thinking I was going to hit it and it didn’t go that way. I put this loss on me, I need to step up and make those,” Oden said.
Chauncey Billups ended with 22 points and six assists for Denver, which pulled out a tough win over Utah in its season opener on Wednesday.
Brandon Roy drained 16-of-18 from the foul line en route to a 30-point effort for Portland, which began its season with a win over Houston on Tuesday. Roy also posted five rebounds and five assists.
Rudy Fernandez scored 16 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, and his three-pointer gave the hosts an 81-74 lead with 7:19 remaining.
Anthony’s acrobatic make in the lane and a Ty Lawson layup on the fastbreak cut into the lead. Consecutive Anthony jumpers a little later gave the Nuggets their first lead of the second half, 87-85, with under four minutes left.
It turned into a virtual free throw contest over the next several minutes, as Portland hit 6-of-8 from the foul line and the Nuggets made six straight to maintain a two-point lead with 1 1/2 minutes left.
A pair offensive rebounds extended a Denver possession, and Nene was able to recover after getting his shot blocked by Oden to sink a hook shot in the lane for a 95-91 edge at the 1:05 mark.
Roy made it a one-possession game with a tough basket in traffic, and Nene was whistled for his sixth foul while going after an Anthony miss. But LaMarcus Aldridge could not tie it, hitting only one from the line with 35.3 seconds left.
A pump fake freed up Billups at the other end, but the veteran missed an open jumper from the left wing. Roy was double-teamed after a timeout and gave it up to Oden, who was fouled by Kenyon Martin.
The 2007 first overall draft pick was wildly off the mark on both of his attempts, Anthony hit a pair of free throws with 1.9 ticks left, and Roy’s potential game-tying three-point attempt didn’t hit the rim as the clock ran out.
“These first two games, they weren’t just important, they were battles,” Anthony said. “They were two fights, and divisions games, that makes it more important.”
The Nuggets scored the final 10 points of the first quarter, taking a 24-17 edge, only to have Portland tally the first 11 points of the second frame to take the lead right back.
Anthony ended with 20 points in the first half, though the Nuggets still trailed, 43-42, at the intermission.
Roy banked in a three at the third-quarter buzzer for a 67-62 advantage heading to the final stanza.
These teams split the four-game season series last year, with each club holding serve on its home court...Martell Webster ended with 10 points for Portland, which made 33-of-41 from the foul line...Oden ended with six points and nine rebounds...Nene had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds in defeat.
--Via Sports Network
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