Portland Trail Blazers Remain Undefeated with Victory Over Denver Nuggets

The Portland Trail Blazers remained undefeated, improving to 3-0 with a 111-102 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night.

Here's what I like about this Portland team so far this season: After Gerald Wallace and LaMarcus Aldridge topped 20 points apiece in each of the Blazers' first two wins, Portland had three other players each surpass 20 against the Nuggets, while Aldridge and Wallace scored 13 apiece.

If their scoring depth remains like that, the Blazers have a bright future ahead in 2011-12.

Starting guards Wesley Matthews (25 points) and Raymond Felton (23 points) led the way for Portland, with Jamal Crawford adding in 22 off the bench.

Matthews hit all five of his 3-pointers in the second half as Portland pulled away from a 53-all halftime score.

It was nice to see Matthews break out for a big game, after he and most of the other Blazers had given way to Aldridge and Wallace in the team's first two games. Both players were still effective against Denver—Wallace grabbed six rebounds, and Aldridge added five boards and six assists—but the good news for Blazers fans is that other guys appear ready and willing to step up and score when needed, including newcomers Felton and Crawford. Backup center Kurt Thomas played 12 efficient minutes, turning in seven points and six rebounds.

Former Blazers Andre Miller (13 points) and Rudy Fernandez (seven points) each came off the bench for the Nuggets. Ty Lawson led Denver with 25 points.

Things get a little tougher for Portland now. Yes, the Blazers are 3-0 and have been impressive thus far, but they've also played all of their regular-season games in the friendly confines of the Rose Garden. Now, Portland hits the road for three of its next four games, beginning with a pair of tough matchups. The first of those comes on Sunday at the Los Angeles Clippers and, two days later, the Blazers are at Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder, who improved to 4-0 after Kevin Durant's last-second 3-pointer gave them a 104-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

We've learned a little bit about the Blazers through their first three games, namely that this group plays well together, and guys like Felton and Matthews have no problem switching from role players to featured scorers. But I think we're going to learn quite a bit more about this team based on how it plays during this next stretch, and how it handles some tough road challenges.

Live in Denver? You can purchase Nuggets Tickets to all home and away games. You can also purchase Nuggets Vs Trail blazers Tickets today.

More at sports.yahoo.com

More Basketball Articles

OJ Mayo, Kevin Durant, Jerryd Bayless, Kobe Bryant