By Caleb Hersch
Posted at 10:51 pm, December 21

The Portland Trail Blazers have won 10 games in a row.

Number ten did not come easy, however, as the Trail Blazers erased a fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Denver Nuggets 99-96.

A 16-2 run by the Trail Blazers erased the Nuggets' seven point lead at the start of the final period. Some late-game heroics sealed the deal.

With the game tied 94-94, James Jones hit one of two free throws, giving the Nuggets a chance to retake the lead. Carmelo Anthony posted-up Brandon Roy, but Roy blocked Anthony's attempt.

Travis Outlaw was fouled and he hit both shots, giving Portland a three-point edge. Allen Iverson then cut the Trail Blazer lead to one with a driving lay-up.

After Jarrett Jack made two free-throws with 4.6 seconds remaining, the Nuggets got the ball to Linas Klezia for a deep three-point attempt which was blocked by Travis Outlaw just before the buzzer sounded.

Outlaw's block highlighted his tremendous fourth quarter. He blocked three shots and scored 11 of his 12 points in the final period, and his hustle play was the catalyst for the Portland comeback.

Outlaw was very happy about his team's strong play and the comeback.

"It's an unbelievable feeling," Outlaw said. "I've never been a part of something like this (the winning streak). We're enjoying every minute of it."

Martell Webster led the Trail Blazers with 19 points. He made four shots from beyond the arc and scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Trail Blazers started the game strong.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had a career-high five assists. His jump-shot was accurate and his inside play helped set the tone for Portland.

Roy, the two-time reigning Western Conference player of the week, had 18 points and 5 assists as he continued his strong play. He shot just 4-15 from the field, but timely scoring and clutch defense excuse a poor shooting night.

The Nuggets were led by their two superstars, Anthony and Iverson. Anthony scored 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, but was blocked twice in the last three minutes of the game. Iverson also scored 34 points and shot 11-12 from the free-throw line.

Anthony was very impressed with the Trail Blazers.

"They are a hot team and they are playing well right now," Anthony said. "In the fourth quarter Outlaw got hot. He got it started and everybody started hitting shots. When you’ve got five guys on the court who are making shots it's kind of hard to do anything. They are the hottest team in the NBA right now."

The Trail Blazers, the youngest team in the NBA is playing team-oriented basketball and is getting consistent production from 10 players during this impressive 10-game winning streak.

Trail Blazers Head Coach Nate McMillan was impressed with the effort of his second unit.

"I thought Travis (Outlaw), Channing Frye and James Jones did the bulk of the work for us in the fourth quarter," McMillan said. "That second unit, especially Jarrett (Jack), Travis, Frye and Jones, gave us a big lift." (Watch video interview with Nate McMillan)

McMillan is also excited about the atmosphere surrounding his young team in Portland.

"Our crowd was the best crowd we've had since I've been here," he said. "It was the loudest. It helps make the Rose Garden the special place we want it to be. If we keep winning like this, the fans will keep coming and the players will feed off that."

Portland (15-12) is now just half a game behind Denver (15-11) in the Northwest Division. Portland has won in four of five division match-ups, with two wins over the Jazz and a 2-1 record against the Nuggets.

The Trail Blazers face another division opponent in their next game. Portland will face local rivals the Seattle Supersonics on Christmas day at 5:00 p.m. at the Rose Garden. Click here for tickets

The game will be broadcast locally on KGW and nationally on ESPN. As always, the game can be heard on the radio on 750am KXL.

Boxscore | Vdeo Highlights | Surreal Scene as #10 Falls (Barrett's Blog) | Tickling the twine for 10 (Center Court Blog)