DENVER -- The Trail Blazers took Denvers best shot -- and the Nuggets took way too many errant shots thanks to Portlands stifling defence. Damian Lillard made up for the absence of fellow All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge by scoring 31 points in the Trail Blazers 100-95 win over the Nuggets on Tuesday night, including a pair of free throws and a layup in the closing minutes to help hold off Denvers fourth-quarter rally. "It was a difficult game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "We did a lot of good things, made some big plays defensively to win it at the end. The offence kind of shut down in the fourth quarter but our defence stayed solid, and to get a win like this in Denver is something we needed to do." The Nuggets trimmed an 18-point deficit to two but couldnt catch the Blazers. Denver made just 37 of 103 shots, including 27 of 64 in the paint, and couldnt even find the rim at the line, missing 9 of 26 free throws. Lillard scored 12 points in the third quarter when it looked as if to the Blazers were headed for a blowout win, but he saved his biggest shots for late in the fourth. Lillards clutch shooting helped Portland overcome a terrific performance by Denvers J.J. Hickson, who pulled down a career-high 25 rebounds, including 15 on the offensive side. Hickson led the Nuggets to a 64-41 advantage on the glass, appearing as a reserve power forward after starting 52 games at centre this season. "Twenty-five boards is exciting, but the win would have been more exciting," Hickson said. The Blazers again went with a smaller lineup with Aldridge missing his fourth straight game with a strained left groin, and Dorell Wright helped make up for Aldridges team-high 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds by giving Denver another long-range shooter to defend. As Nuggets coach Brian Shaw said before tip-off when talking about Aldridges absence, "Theres a big sigh of relief that you dont have to deal with that, but at the same time it just creates a different type of problem: Theyre one of the best -- if not the best -- 3-point shooting teams in the league. Theyre the best free-throw shooting team in the league. Theyre the highest-scoring team in the league." Six Blazers scored in double figures, including Nicolas Batums 16 points. Aldridge averaged 34.5 points in the Blazers two earlier games against Denver this season and the Trail Blazers missed him in the fourth quarter when it was tougher to close this one out than they had expected when they surged to a 79-61 lead in the third. Randy Foye led Denver with 17 points. Denver again was without Ty Lawson, who leads the Nuggets with averages of 18 points and 8.8 assists. Hes missed seven straight games with a broken rib. Shaw also made a big change with his big man, starting 7-foot-1 Timofey Mozgov at centre in place of Hickson, a natural power forward pressed into duty at centre after JaVale McGee fractured his left tibia five games into the season. Hickson filled in admirably, averaging 11.4 points and 9.2 boards, but he shot just 52 per cent from the free-throw line, and Shaw said that "affected his confidence rolling to the basket aggressively and running the floor because maybe he doesnt want to get fouled." Mozgov, who was averaging 8.6 points and 5.8 rebounds, finished with 14 points and six boards. Hickson scored 16 points. Hickson said he was much more comfortable going back to power forward. "It just felt good to play my natural position," he said. He didnt seem bothered coming off the bench, either. "I dont know how many minutes I played, but I definitely played starters minutes tonight," said Hickson, who played just under 30 minutes. "So, coming off the bench or starting, people always tell me its not who starts, its who finishes and tonight, coach made the call to let me finish and that shows he has a lot of confidence in me still." Evan Fourniers pair of free throws with just over four minutes remaining capped a 15-2 run that pulled Denver to 86-84. Lillard ended the drought with a pair of free throws. After back-to-back buckets by Denvers Kenneth Faried, Lillard hit a finger-roll layup for a 92-88 lead, and the Nuggets never got any closer. "When youre in a situation like that, youve just got to find a way to get it done," Lillard said. NOTES: Blazers F Thomas Robinson played just 14 minutes and had a wrap on his left knee after the game. Stotts said he had no information on the injury. Federico Fazio Argentina Jersey .ca. The NHL Play of the Year showdown kicks off with some slick moves going head-to-head with a combination of soft hands and endless patience. Nicolas Otamendi Argentina Jersey . 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Vietnam won the first leg 2-1.SAN DIEGO -- Cuban rookie Odrisamer Despaigne is undefeated in his two starts with the San Diego Padres, a small bright spot in a season that otherwise has gone so wrong. Again using an assortment of breaking pitches and arm angles, the 27-year-old Despaigne outdueled fellow rookie Michael Bolsinger to win his second straight start as the Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-1 Sunday to pop out of their one-day stay in last place in the NL West. Cameron Maybin keyed the two-run fourth inning for San Diego, which scored their most runs in four games. "Hes got a nice pulse to him," manager Bud Black said of Despaigne, who defected last summer. "Our heartbeats down. He doesnt get fazed. Working his way through a 2 1/2 hour work day, he is pretty composed and clear-thinking. This guy knows how to pitch." Despaigne (2-0) held Arizona to one run and five hits in 6 2-3 innings, walking four and striking out two. He is the sixth Padres pitcher to win his first two starts, and the seventh San Diego pitcher overall to get a win in his first two appearances. In his big league debut last Monday at San Francisco, he held the Giants to four hits in seven shutout innings, striking out one and walking none in a 1-0 win. Despaigne allowed three of the first four Arizona batters to reach base, but allowed only one run. Leadoff batter Ender Inciarte beat out an infield single and stole second before Paul Goldschmidt walked. Miguel Montero singled in Inciarte before Despaigne got Aaron Hill to fly out to centre and struck out Martin Prado to strand runners on first and third. "He wasnt stressed a great deal last week in San Francisco," Black said. "He was stressed there in the first and hung in there. It was good that he didnt let that second run score. His heartbeats pretty good. He knows his game. He knows what he can do with the ball." Despaigne, who signed a minor league contract with the Padres on May 2, said he felt good in making his first start at Petco Park. "I was excited to pitch here in front of the fans," he said through interpreter Yasmani Grandal, who caught both of his starts. "We had lost two games so I wanted to get that win for us. "I felt good," said Despaigne, who played eight seasons with the Havana Industriales of Cubas Serie Nacional. "My breaking pitches were outside the zone so I had to make adjustments and I got it through.dddddddddddd" Grandal said he told Despaigne the same thing he did in San Francisco: "Make sure you dont shake me off. He did that the first six innings and at the end he wanted to throw something else. Youve got to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he wants to pitch his own game for an inning, hey, Ill give him that." The right-hander retired the first two batters in the sixth before allowing consecutive singles and making way for Kevin Quackenbush, who struck out pinch-hitter Roger Kieschnick to end the inning. Despaigne got the Diamondbacks to hit into three double plays. "A lot of deception," manager Kirk Gibson said. "We had some opportunities. Hes thrown two games and hes given up one run. Hes doing something right." The Padres scored their most runs in four games. Through 81 games, they had scored one or fewer runs 27 times. They swapped places with the Diamondbacks, who had leapfrogged the Padres into fourth place after winning 3-1 Saturday night. Huston Street pitched the ninth for his 21st save in as many chances. The Padres scored twice in the fourth on two hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly off Bolsinger (1-4). Chase Headley drew a leadoff walk, advanced on Tommy Medicas one-out single to left and scored on Maybins double down the right-field line. Medica scored on Alexi Amaristas sac fly. Bolsinger allowed two runs and three hits in six innings, struck out six and walked four. "Since I have been up here I prided myself on not walking people," Bolsinger said. "Kind of like the San Francisco game, where the one walk I gave up, the run scored. So, I just have to try to eliminate that. Besides that, everything else was pretty good." NOTES: Nick Ahmed was selected from Triple-A Reno before the game and made his big league debut for the Diamondbacks, starting at SS and batting eighth. He grounded into a double play in his first at-bat and got his first big league hit, a single, in the seventh. ... The Padres open a three-game series against Cincinnati on Monday night, when former San Diego ace Mat Latos (1-0, 2.89) is scheduled to start against rookie Jesse Hahn (3-1, 2.38). ... 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