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Trail Blazers beat Nuggets 112-106

Posted at 11:24 PM, Jan 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-01-04 01:31:12-05

CJ McCollum had 25 points and seven assists, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a 112-106 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

Gerald Henderson scored 19 points and Al-Farouq Aminu had 14 for Portland, which has won four of its last five. Allen Crabbe also scored 14 points.

The Trail Blazers used good guard play to beat the Nuggets in Portland on Wednesday, and it was more of the same Sunday.

McCollum continued his strong season with his fourth straight game of 25 or more points. He carried Portland through the first three quarters and Crabbe and Henderson picked it up in the fourth.

Crabbe scored nine on his 14 points early in the quarter as the Trail Blazers scored the first seven points of the fourth to take an 87-80 lead.

Denver closed to 91-88 but Henderson's 3-pointer made it 97-88 midway through the final period.

The Nuggets got back within five but the Trail Blazers held them off in the final minutes.

Danilo Gallinari led the Nuggets with 29 points in his second game back from a sprained left ankle. Denver has lost six straight, two off its season high.

LATE ARRIVAL

Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried started Sunday despite flying home from Oakland earlier in the day. Faried spent the night in the hospital after took an elbow to the back of the neck while fighting for a rebound late in Denver's overtime loss at Golden State. He rubbed his neck before lying down at the end of Denver's bench. He was later removed from the court on a stretcher and taken to a hospital as a precaution while the Nuggets flew home.

Faried, who entered Sunday averaging 12.9 points and 9.0 rebounds, finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

TIP-INS

Trail Blazers: G Damian Lillard missed his seventh straight game with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. There was a chance he would play against Denver but was scratched before tip-off. ... Portland was playing its second game in seven days.

Nuggets: G Emmanuel Mudiay is close to returning and could play later this week. He has missed 12 games with a right ankle sprain suffered against Minnesota on Dec. 11. ... The Nuggets were whistled for four defensive 3-second violations.

UP NEXT

Trail Blazers: Host Memphis on Monday

Nuggets: At Minnesota on Wednesday