DENVER -- Nicolas Batum got hot early, Wesley Matthews hit a critical shot when Denver was making a late charge and LaMarcus Aldridge added the finishing touches. Thats simply the way the Portland Trail Blazers plan to roll this season, a different player stepping up when hes called. Aldridge scored nine of his 25 points late in the fourth quarter to help the Blazers hold off Denver 113-98 on Friday night, spoiling the home debut of Nuggets coach Brian Shaw and snapping their 23-game regular-season home winning streak. "Top to bottom, solid win for us," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. Batum was the go-to scorer early, getting all 21 of his points in the first half. Then, Matthews came to the rescue as the Blazers saw a 26-point lead late in the third quarter shrink to 101-94 with 4:57 remaining. Matthews hit a 3-pointer late to give the Blazers some breathing room. And that set the stage for Aldridge, who closed out the victory by hitting jumper after jumper over a steady rotation of Denver defenders. "Its good to have a guy like that who can make those plays and guys can play off of him," said Stotts, whose team got back on track after a season-opening loss in Phoenix. "The way we kept our composure when they made their run is something we should be proud of." That wasnt quiet the case for the Nuggets as they suffered a rare home loss. Although they made a late run, Shaw still called his squads early effort "lacklustre." "Our team looked very tired, just to be honest with you, from the jump," Shaw said. "They just looked winded. They looked like they were the team that played in altitude and we were the team that was coming in on the second night of a back-to-back." Reserve Nate Robinson scored 24 points for Denver, while Ty Lawson added 21. "Came out a little flat in the first half," Robinson said. "We kept the crowd involved by trying to get energy from them." Last season, the Nuggets constantly fed off the crowd noise and were nearly unbeatable at home. The last regular-season loss for Denver was on Jan. 18, against Washington. The team then reeled off 23 straight wins to finish a league-best 38-3 at home. Denver fell at home to Golden State in a first-round playoff game. "We just didnt come out and play," Lawson said. So far, the Nuggets have been slow to grasp the new system of Shaw, who was hired after George Karl was fired following a season in which the team had a franchise-record 57 wins. Shaw said it might take some time for the Nuggets to fully adopt his style, which features more of a half-court offence rather than an up-tempo pace Lawson and the Nuggets grew accustomed to under Karl. "We knew this was going to be a process," Shaw said. "The way were playing I dont think is the problem. Tonight, defence was the problem." Hard to argue. The Nuggets gave up 64 points in the first half and allowed the Blazers to shoot 14 of 22 from beyond the 3-point line. "We didnt play defence and it was just too big of a hole to come back from," Lawson said. Batum scored the Blazers first 10 points of the game. Aldridge got into the act when he hit a jumper midway through the first quarter. The 6-foot-8 Batum stayed hot the rest of the half, scoring 21 points -- including five 3-pointers -- to help the Blazers take a 64-50 lead. "I have to find a balance for creating everybody else and creating my own shot," he said. "Tonight, I tried to score first." The Nuggets have been experimenting at small forward with Wilson Chandler sidelined by a strained left hamstring and Danilo Gallinari out until at least December as he recovers from a torn ACL. Denver has tried Anthony Randolph and even Evan Fournier, whos more of a guard, at the spot. "Just trying to find the right mix," Shaw explained. "I dont think everybody is settled into when exactly theyre going to be coming into the game. It will be that way until we get everybody back in the fold." NOTES: The Blazers open at home on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. Portland has won its last four home openers. ... Matthews finished with 12 rebounds. ... Portland snapped a nine-game slide against Denver at Pepsi Center. ... Shaw said before the game theres no timetable for Chandlers return. ... Nuggets mascot "Rocky" got the wind knocked out of him while performing a pregame stunt. ... Nuggets F Kenneth Faried had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Lance Stephenson Lakers Jersey . 1. CAVALIERS: At 19-20, theyre a mess. Watched the game Tuesday night vs. Phoenix and their defence was poor (107 points and 52 per cent for Suns). Where is the high level play from Kyrie Irving and LeBron James (13 turnovers!)? Kevin Love looks like a man thats wondering what he got himself into. Wilt Chamberlain Lakers Jersey . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/customized/ . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Derek Fisher Jersey . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. Robert Horry Jersey .com) - Carmelo Anthony tallied 31 points to help the New York Knicks continue their improved play of late with a 100-92 victory over a short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder squad.HOUSTON -- LaMarcus Aldridges son JJ, who turned 5 on Wednesday, texted him after the Portland Trail Blazers playoff win and told him he looked like Spider-Man on one of his dunks. To the Houston Rockets the Portland star probably looked like a superhero on more than just that one play. Aldridge continued his dominance against the Rockets, scoring 43 points to lift the Trail Blazers to a 112-105 victory and a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. Aldridge has made the most of the return to his home state and put the Trail Blazers in control heading home for Game 3 in Portland on Friday. The former University of Texas star who grew up in Dallas laughed heartily and said maybe when asked if hed rather stay in the Lone Star state after the way hes played in the first two games. "(Leading) 2-0 going home feels great, but its not over," he said. "Were going to stay hungry, stay humble and go home and try to duplicate the same (success)." Aldridge became the first player with consecutive games of 43 points games in the playoffs since Tracy McGrady did it in April 2003 after scoring a career-high and franchise playoff-record 46 in an overtime win in Game 1. Hes also the first player Trail Blazers history to have two 40-point games in the post-season and his 89 points in a teams first two playoff games trail only Michael Jordan (1986, 1988) and Jerry West (1965) in the last 50 years. Hes helped the Trail Blazers win two road games to start a playoff series for just the second time in franchise history and the first since they took the first two against the Lakers in the 1977 Western Conference Finals. Damian Lillard made six free throws down the stretch to help out in the win. But the guard gave all the credit for the win to Aldridge. "What can they do to stop him? He was great once again, just like Game 1," Lillard said. "When a lot of guys couldnt get going and couldnt hit shots, he just carried us. He played like an MVP again." The Rockets spent the last two days of practice focused on how to slow Aldridge down, but nothing they did seemed to faze the 6-foot-11 player. "We tried changing it up tonight," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "Tonight, he was picking and popping and moving and we were having trouble running people at him. We were trying to get the ball out of his hands as much as we could." Aldridge credited coach Terry Stotts for moving him around early in the game to help evadee Houstons double-teams.dddddddddddd "I made tough shots," Aldridge said. "I dont think too much was easy tonight. I just got in that rhythm and started making shots." James Harden knocked down a 3-pointer with about 30 seconds left to get the Rockets within 3. Lillard made two free throws before Harden fouled out about 10 seconds later. Mo Williams and Lillard both made a pair of free throws after that to secure the win. Lillard finished with 18 points. Dwight Howard was unstoppable early and scored 25 points in the first half, but managed just seven in the second half. After missing 20 shots in Game 1, Harden promised a better performance in this game. But it was much of the same as he was 6 of 19 and finished with 18 points. "We dont have our same flow, our same mojo that we had throughout the season," Harden said. "We dont have our same swag ... weve got to get that back." The Rockets trailed by nine points before a 5-0 run cut the lead to 102-98 with about a minute left. Both teams made a pair of free throws after that before Lillard found Wesley Matthews wide open for a reverse layup to make it 106-100 with 33 seconds left. A one-handed dunk by Aldridge over Omer Asik gave Portland a 96-87 lead with about five minutes left. With Aldridge on the bench to start the fourth, Houston scored the first four points of the period to cut the lead to two points, but Williams and Dorell Wright made consecutive 3s to make it 89-81 midway through the quarter. Aldridge made 10 of Portlands first 14 points of the second half to help the Trail Blazers build a 67-58 lead with about eight minutes left in the quarter. Houston scored the next nine points, with the last five from Chandler Parsons, to tie it at 67 a couple of minutes later. Portland an 83-77 led entering the fourth quarter. The Trail Blazers scored seven straight points to take a 53-51 lead late in the second quarter, but Beverleys basket at the buzzer tied it at halftime. Howard scored Houstons first 13 points and had 19 -- with five dunks -- by the end of the first quarter to help the Rockets to a 31-23 lead. NOTES: Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who has been working with Howard this week, watched the game from a courtside seat. ... Wright finished with 15 points. ... Howards 19 points in the first quarter were a franchise-high for a quarter in the playoffs, surpassing the 18 Olajuwon scored against Utah on May 5, 1995. ' ' '
