Portland, Ore. – Steve Blake didn’t grow up in Portland, but he loves the city as if he did.
The native East Coaster bought a house here, which is significant because he has not done so in any other city where he has played – four in his four-season career. His plan is to return to the house to live in the summer, but Sunday he simply treated the Rose Garden as if it was his.
The newly acquired Nuggets guard scorched the team that brought him to this city last season, scoring a career-high 25 points in Denver’s 109-93 win over Portland. The victory snapped a modest two-game losing streak.
At the news conference announcing the trade with the Milwaukee Bucks that brought him to Denver, Blake was described repeatedly as a “classic” and “pass first” point guard. Well, those passes found their way back to him most of this night, helping his game turn out to be as classic as they come.
“It means a lot,” said Blake, whom Portland traded to Milwaukee after last season. “When they traded me, it’s not something that I wanted to do. I liked Portland. I wanted to stick around. So it’s nice to come back and perform well.”
Blake scored 12 of his 25 points in the decisive third quarter, in which the Nuggets outscored Portland 41-17 to take a 90-73 lead. It was the most points Portland allowed in a quarter this season, and the most the Nuggets scored in any quarter this season.
“We got out and ran, and we clamped down on defense,” said Nuggets guard Allen Iverson, who finished with 32 points. “We played a lot better on the defensive end. We didn’t give them a whole bunch of wide-open shots. And when we rebounded the ball, we ran and put pressure on them.”
After sprinting out to a 31-17 lead in the first quarter, the Nuggets relinquished it in a 37-point Blazers second quarter. Nuggets coach George Karl tore into his team at halftime and challenged the players to take control of the game with solid defense instead of relying on offense.
The players listened – and executed.
“I thought that’s what happened,” Karl said. “Our offense was created by our defensive intensity.”
The Nuggets gained control in the third with a 24-4 run to take a 73-60 lead with 4:14 left and stretched the advantage to 90-73 at the end of the quarter.
More defense? Denver made 11 steals, converted many of those into points and stopped Portland’s biggest threat – Zach Randolph. The forward came into the game with averages of 23.9 points and 10.1 rebounds. He finished with four points and five rebounds.
“Usually Zach has been the one consistent player,” Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. “But tonight he just had a bad shooting night and couldn’t get anything going.”
But the night belonged to Blake. During introductions he was cheered. Before and after the game he effortlessly dished out hugs and greetings to all who sought him out.
And no one could have asked for more on the court.
“It’s just this team,” Blake said. “Playing with Iverson and J.R. (Smith) and (Marcus) Camby and guys that really understand the game and know how to play, it’s just helping me become a better player in a short time.”
Staff writer Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
