PORTLAND, Ore. — Greg Oden had 16 points and seven rebounds and the Portland Trail Blazers erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Nuggets 98-96 in a preseason game Sunday night.
Brandon Roy, who played less than 12 minutes in the first three quarters, combined with Oden for the comeback and finished with 12 points.
Oden’s slam dunk and Roy’s layup narrowed Denver’s lead to 86-85. Roy added two free throws to put Portland ahead, but Chauncey Billups answered with a 3-pointer to make it 89-87, Denver.
Oden hit two free throws to tie it, before a layup and another foul shot to make it 92-89 for Portland. Oden fouled out with 2:27 left, but Roy’s layup made it 94-89 and Portland led the rest of the way.
The Nuggets returned to exhibition play after a two-game series against the Pacers in Asia last week.
The Blazers were without forwards LaMarcus Aldridge, who has a knee contusion, and Rudy Fernandez, who has back spasms. Juwan Howard, acquired by the Blazers as a free agent in the offseason, started in Aldridge’s place.
Carmelo Anthony was handed a technical foul early when he kicked a ball after being called for an offensive foul against Steve Blake.
But Anthony appeared ready for the regular season from the start, with 16 of his points in the first half. He finished with 21, sitting out the third quarter.
Denver went up 58-57 on Nene’s dunk midway through the third quarter, and traded the lead with Portland until Billups and Anthony made consecutive layups to give the Nuggets a 67-62 lead.
Arron Afflalo’s 3-pointer made it 84-72 for Denver in the fourth.
DENVER (96)
Anthony 7-16 7-11 21, Martin 2-6 5-6 9, Nene 4-6 5-6 13, Billups 2-6 6-8 11, Graham 3-4 4-4 10, Smith 2-8 3-4 7, Andersen 1-4 2-4 4, Carter 0-2 0-0 0, Afflalo 3-7 2-3 9, Allen 2-3 0-0 4, Lawson 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 30-68 34-46 96.
PORTLAND (98)
Batum 2-3 1-2 6, Howard 4-6 2-2 10, Oden 5-7 6-6 16, Blake 3-12 1-1 8, Roy 3-10 6-9 12, Przybilla 2-4 2-4 6, Outlaw 1-7 2-2 4, Miller 5-18 8-9 18, Webster 3-5 1-2 7, Bayless 3-6 5-7 11. Totals 31-78 34-44 98.
Denver 23 25 26 22 — 96
Portland 26 25 19 28 — 98
3-point goals — Denver 2-8 (Billups 1-2, Afflalo 1-2, Martin 0-1, Smith 0-1, Anthony 0-2), Portland 2-13 (Batum 1-2, Blake 1-5, Miller 0-1, Outlaw 0-1, Webster 0-1, Roy 0-3). Fouled out — Nene, Oden, Howard. Rebounds — Denver 50 (Martin 8), Portland 57 (Przybilla 11). Assists — Denver 14 (Billups 5), Portland 15 (Miller, Roy 4). Total fouls — Denver 33, Portland 34. Technicals — Anthony, Batum, Portland defensive three-second 2. Flagrant fouls — Przybilla. A — 18,943 (19,980).
