Nuggets clinch Northwest with win over Trail Blazers

With the victory Denver captured the Northwest crown and locked themselves into the third spot in the Western Conference standings for the playoffs.

Marcus Camby and Ruben Patterson both tallied 21 points, with the former clearing a game-high 13 rebounds as well. DerMarr Johnson came off the bench to contribute 13 points and Andre Miller accounted for 10 and a game-high nine assists in the win.

Voshon Lenard scored a season-high 21 points in a reserve role, matching the output of Sebastian Telfair who eventually fouled out. Travis Outlaw dropped in 14 points, while Martell Webster and Zach Randolph chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

A 14-0 run by Denver midway through the first quarter put the squad ahead by a score of 18-5, but a late push by the Blazers left the Nuggets with just a 28-19 advantage after one period of play.

Trailing by only four points at the break, 56-52, Portland was unable to capitalize on a strong second quarter and quickly found itself down by double- digits once again at 64-52 just 1:50 into the second half.

With under a minute to play in the third, a jump shot by Camby put the Nuggets ahead 84-69, with the team’s largest lead of 19 points yet to come just moments into the fourth.

Portland finished the night shooting 54.2 percent from three-point range, but the squad turned the ball over 24 times, which led to 25 points for the Nuggets.

The loss for Portland was the third in a row and the 14th in the last 15 outings.

Game Notes

The division title for the Nuggets is their first since the 1987-88 campaign when they finished with a mark of 54-28...Denver swept the four-game season series and has now won 11 of the last 12 meetings against the Blazers dating back to the 2002-03 campaign...The Blazers made a season-high 13 three- pointers...Steve Blake, who made 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, led Portland with eight assists...The Blazers dropped to 15-24 at home.