Hickson has 19 points and 13 rebounds as Nuggets beat Trail Blazers 108-104
JJ Hickson had 19 points (14 in the paint) and 13 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-104.
Hickson’s dunk put the Nuggets ahead for good with 4:17 left in the fourth quarter.
The Trail Blazers got within 106-104 on Al-Farouq Aminu’s layup with 25 seconds to play, but Emmanuel Mudiay answered with 2 free throws, and the Trail Blazers got no closer.
Mudiay’s 15-foot fadeaway with 56.1 seconds left made it 104-100, and his 2 free throws with 18.3 seconds left put it away at 108-104.
During clutch time, the Nuggets outscored the Trail Blazers 15-13. Hickson scored 8 of the Nuggets’ 15 on 2 for 3 shooting and 4 for 5 at the line. With 4:53 left, Aminu stole the ball from Danilo Gallinari, and his dunk off it tied the game at 93.
For the Trail Blazers, Damian Lillard had 30 points and 7 assists. CJ McCollum scored 12 of his 16 points (12 in the fourth quarter) in the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets shot 51.9% from the field and 36.8% from 3 to the Trail Blazers’ 39.6% and 34.5%. They outscored the Trail Blazers 41-20 off the bench. Meyers Leonard fouled out.