Lillard's shot lifts Trail Blazers over Nuggets
DENVER -- Damian Lillard hit a floating 7-footer with 0.3 seconds left in overtime, and the Portland Trail Blazers rallied from a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Denver Nuggets 115-113 on Saturday night.
Lillard finished with 37 points and C.J. McCollum had 23 and 10 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.
Nikola Jokic had 23 points and a career-high 17 rebounds and Emmanuel Mudiay had 21 points for the Nuggets, who lost their home opener for the third straight year on an eventful night at Pepsi Center.
Denver (1-1) honored Dikembe Mutombo with a halftime ceremony to retire his No. 55. Then, with 9:18 left in the fourth quarter, half of the overhead lights in the arena went out, delaying the game for 28 minutes.
The Blazers (2-1) spoiled the festivities with a big comeback capped by scoring the last six points to win it. Down 113-109, Mason Plumlee hit two free throws and McCollum's layup with 34.6 seconds left tied it.
After Danilo Gallinari missed a fadeaway on the other end, Lillard dribbled the clock down before hitting the winner.
The Nuggets led by nine with 1:30 left in the fourth but could not hold on. The lead was two when they turned it over on an inbounds pass with 12.3 seconds left, and after Mudiay poked the ball away from Lillard with 4.1 seconds, Wilson Chandler missed two free throws.
Lillard then hit a layup off the inbounds pass with 2.1 seconds left to send it to overtime tied at 104.
The Blazers led by as many as 14 in the first half, and Lillard's layup gave Portland a 70-59 lead with 9:35 left in the third.
The Nuggets then went on a 29-6 run to take a 12-point lead.
Mutombo's jersey was raised to the rafters 20 years after he last played for the Nuggets. The 2015 Hall of Fame inductee is the franchise leader in blocked shots with 1,486 despite only playing five years in Denver.
His most iconic moment with the team was when he laid on the floor in Seattle, holding the ball over his head after the No. 8 seed Nuggets upset the SuperSonics in the first round of the 1994 playoffs.
Mutombo was presented with a painting of the scene when he was honored at halftime, and the Nuggets wore their rainbow uniforms for the occasion.
NOTES: Denver G Gary Harris (groin) and F Darrell Arthur (knee) did not play. Both have been practicing, with Harris being closer to playing but coach Michael Malone wanted to keep him out of the lineup to make sure he was close to 100 percent. "We are going to be really smart and prudent about his injury and not rush him back so when he does come back we can have him for an extended stay," Malone said. ... Portland C Festus Ezeli (knee) has yet to play this season. He has not yet practiced fully while recovering from the injury. ... Nuggets G Will Barton was drafted by Portland in 2012 and traded to Denver in 2015. ... The Blazers entered Saturday having won 11 of 12 regular season games against Denver dating back to the 2013-14 season.