Nuggets 118, Trail Blazers 109
Andre Iguodala had 28 points and nine assists and Evan Fournier added a career-best 24 points as host Denver defeated Portland to set a franchise record with 55 victories.
Anthony Randolph scored a season-high 18 points as the Nuggets extended their club mark of consecutive home wins to 22. Ty Lawson added 12 points and 10 assists as Denver moved one game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies in the competition for the No. 3 seed.
Damian Lillard scored 30 points, J.J. Hickson added 19 and Will Barton tallied 17 but the trio couldn’t prevent the Trail Blazers from losing their 11th straight game. LaMarcus Aldridge (ankle), Nicolas Batum (shoulder) and Wesley Matthews (ankle) all sat out.
The Nuggets led by 14 with eight minutes to play before the Trail Blazers rattled off a 17-6 run to pull within 104-101 with 3:32 left. Fournier drained two 3-pointers in a 14-6 surge that sealed the outcome.
Denver shot 61 percent from the field en route to a 67-50 halftime lead. The lead was 20 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter before Portland whittled its deficit to 11 entering the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nuggets PF Kenneth Faried sprained his left ankle in the first quarter. X-rays were negative but he was scheduled for an MRI exam and will not accompany the team to Milwaukee for Monday's game. … Lillard made four 3-pointers to tie the club record of 181 set by Damon Stoudamire (2004-05). … Denver, which also has the best home mark in franchise history at 37-3 with one contest remaining, holds the tiebreaker over both the Clippers and Grizzlies.