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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) -- Dan Issel grinned as Nick Van Exel displayed some
funky dance steps before the starting lineups were introduced.
|  | | Nick Van Exel tied for team-high honors with 29 points for the Nuggets. |
The Denver Nuggets are having fun again, and it's carrying over
onto the court.
Van Exel and Antonio McDyess each scored 29 points as the
Nuggets won their fourth straight, beating the Portland Trail
Blazers 116-96 on Friday night.
Four other players scored in double figures to help Denver win
by more than 10 points for just the third time this season. The
Nuggets (14-13) also improved to 4-1 since skipping practice in
defiance of Issel last week.
"Everybody's friends now," said Van Exel, who also had 11 assists. "Everybody's speaking to one another on a friendly level. There's no animosity in the locker room with anybody. Everybody's buddies. That's what you need."
Rasheed Wallace led Portland with 27 points and Scottie Pippen
had 21 as the Blazers (17-10) lost back-to-back games for the first
time since dropping their first two of the season. They never led
in the game and surrendered a season-high point total.
"Disaster," point guard Damon Stoudamire said. "Van Exel played great. McDyess played great, but that was a disaster."
Van Exel had 18 points by halftime and added 11 more to help the Nuggets pull away in the third quarter.
The Blazers, who had won 16 of 20 against Denver, were within
eight with 8:17 left in the third, but Van Exel and McDyess
combined for 17 points during a 25-11 run that gave Denver a
22-point lead entering the fourth.
"It's unbelievable right now," McDyess said. "We're happy,
playing well. Everything's clicking for us. What else can you ask
for?"
While McDyess matched Wallace point for point and rebound for rebound, Van Exel handily won a battle of talented point guards, hitting 10 of 17 shots, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Stoudamire was 1-of-4 and finished with just two points.
Stoudamire wasn't the only victim as the Nuggets outplayed the
Blazers in every aspect. They shot 52 percent, had a 28-9 edge in
fast-break points and held the NBA's third-best shooting team to 41
percent from the field.
"They've got a lot of old guys over there," Van Exel said. "We want to try to push the ball and run them. If we're in a half-court game with a team like that, I like their chances, but if we're up and down, I like our chances."
Denver's point total was a season-high and marked just the sixth
time this season Portland allowed more than 100 points.
"We got totally outworked," Portland coach Mike Dunleavy said.
"They outhustled us, outran us on the floor. We weren't sharp
either physically or mentally."
The Nuggets made 10 of its first 13 shots, but Portland trailed
only 43-40 with 4:05 left before halftime. Denver scored the next
13 points and settled for a 12-point lead at the break.
After the game, Issel told his team: "We just beat a darn good
basketball team," to which George McCloud replied, "What does
that make us?"
"Everybody just started laughing," McCloud said.
Game notes
Van Exel passed T.R. Dunn (1,311) for 10th place on
Denver's career assist list. He also made his 1,000th career
3-pointer. ... Pippen needs 14 points for 17,000. ... Portland
rookie Erick Barkley is expected to return to the team Saturday against Washington. He spent the week in New York after his
grandfather's death. ... Wallace was called for a technical foul
for arguing in the first quarter. It was Portland's league-high
42nd technical of the season. ... Portland fell to 0-6 when
trailing at halftime. ... Blazers C Arvydas Sabonis, slowed by a bad knee, did not play. Dunleavy said he wanted to save him for the Washington game.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Portland Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Utah 109
Indiana 101
New York 91
Philadelphia 71
Atlanta 78
Toronto 72
Miami 103
Cleveland 95
LA Lakers 108
Dallas 103
Charlotte 83
Minnesota 74
San Antonio 105
Golden State 87
Denver 116
Portland 96
Seattle 107
Washington 87
Sacramento 95
Vancouver 93
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Mike Dunleavy Official Site
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