(Sports Network) - Nene scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets posted a 97-89 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers despite not having Carmelo Anthony in the lineup.

Anthony is slated to miss the second half of the Nuggets' home-and-home with the Blazers on Tuesday with an elbow contusion.

"Everybody needs to be prepared and focused," Nene said of playing without Anthony. "Everybody did a good job defensively. We need to forget this game and move on; we play the same team tomorrow."

Chauncey Billups posted 19 points and 10 assists for Denver, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Linas Kleiza added 17 points -- 10 in the fourth quarter -- while J.R. Smith tallied 15 points in the win.

"Not only did we win, but we did things that we can take into tomorrow's game," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "Defensively, I feel we got stronger as the game went along. I thought Linas Kleiza played well, (Smith) hit big shots, but it was our defense tonight."

LaMarcus Aldridge scored a game-high 20 points for the Blazers, who snapped a brief two-game winning streak. Steve Blake posted 14 points, while Travis Outlaw had 15 points in the loss. Greg Oden contributed 10 points for Portland.

"The aggressive team usually wins the game, and tonight I felt like (the Nuggets) were the most aggressive team," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said. "There's no reason to be hesitant, and tonight we were. Both teams were tied for first place, and tonight we didn't play that way."

Up by three going into the fourth, the Nuggets got five early free throws from Kleiza to extend the lead to six.

After the Blazers came back to make it a two-point game, Kleiza hit a three- pointer with 5:48 left to make it 88-83. Smith hit another three to extend the lead to eight with 4:18 to go.

Aldridge hit a pair of free throws to cut the Blazers' deficit to five with 3:10 to go, but Nene drew a critical offensive foul on Brandon Roy with 1:47 left. Outlaw rattled home a jumper with 1:20 left to make it a four-point game, but Kleiza followed with a slam to restore a six-point edge with 48.4 seconds on the clock.

Roy missed a three-point attempt on the ensuing possession, and Denver made its free throws to secure the win.

Billups had eight points in the first quarter to lead all players, and the Nuggets held a slim 29-27 edge heading into the second quarter.

Nene was the leading scorer at halftime, with 13 points and seven rebounds, as Denver increased its lead to 53-47 at the break.

Portland came back to take a 61-59 lead on Blake's three pointer 4 1/2 minutes into the third, but Kleiza's three at the buzzer sent the Nuggets into the fourth quarter up 78-75.

Game Notes

Denver has won 13 of the past 16 meetings with Portland...The Nuggets shot 45.8 percent from the field, while the Blazers shot 41.8 percent...Denver outrebounded Portland, 43-32...Roy had eight points.





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