DENVER -- The Trail Blazers took Denvers best shot -- and the Nuggets took way too many errant shots thanks to Portlands stiflin

DENVER -- The Trail Blazers took Denvers best shot -- and the Nuggets took way too many errant shots thanks to Portlands stifling defence. Albert Almora Jr Jersey . 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. David Ross Cubs Jersey . Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Ben Zobrist Jersey . Now, he might be their hottest pitcher. Lobstein earned up his first major league victory Sunday night, allowing one run in 5 2-3 innings in the Tigers 6-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. http://www.thecubsteamshop.com/Cubs-Daniel-Descalso-Kids-Jersey/ . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history.PHOENIX - Andy Marte had not been in the major leagues since 2010, nearly a four-year span that included one year out of the game and time in the independent leagues. The 30-year-old was called up from Triple-A Reno on Thursday to help fill the roster spots vacated by the trades of Gerardo Parra and Martin Prado and broke a tie with a two-run, pinch-hit homer in the sixth inning to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4. Aaron Hill added a solo shot one out later, and Nick Ahmed hit the Diamondbacks third home run, an eighth-inning blast that was the first of his major-league career. Marte became the eighth player in Diamondbacks history to homer in his first at-bat with the club. His last home run came in September of 2010. "It feels great to be back," Marte said. "I worked really hard to try to prove that I could still play here." Reliever Oliver Perez (2-1) earned the win by getting the last two outs in the sixth. The Pirates took the lead in the second inning when Russell Martin drove in two with a double off the left field wall, but Arizona starter Josh Collmenter was able to escape further damage. Collmenter played a part in allowing the Diamondbacks to tie the score after Jeff Locke (2-3) no-hit them for the first three innings of the game. With the bases loaded and two out, Collmenter hit a bouncer to third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who charged the ball, scooped it and pumped once before throwing to first base. The throw was low, but first baseman Ike Davis mishandled the catch for an error that allowed Mark Trumbo and Jordan Pacheco to score and tie the game at 2. ""He has played a lot of first base," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of Davis. "He has caught that one before. Nobody felt worse about it than he did." Neil Walker hit his 16th homer for the Pirates. After home runs from Marte and Hill, Andrew McCutchen drove in Gregory Polanco with a single in the seventh, but the Pirates couldnt rally against Arizona relievers Brad Ziegler and Addison Reed. Reed earned his 27th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. GIBBYS BIG DAY Gibson walked into the media interview rooom for his postgame comments soaked from a beer shower with silly string hanging off the back of his jersey. Ernie Banks Jersey. His players celebrated the 338th managerial win of Gibsons career, which put him No. 1 among all Diamondbacks managers in career wins. Thursdays win vaulted Gibson past Bob Melvin to the top of the list. "It means weve got a long way to go, and wed like to do those types of celebrations with a world championship," Gibson said. "It was an interesting day today. Tough day for us all, and to kind of cap it off that way, its certainly a day Ill remember." "COLL" YOUR JETS Collmenter slammed his cap on the dugout bench upon being removed from the game after 5 1/3 innings and Walkers home run. "I didnt make some pitches early on, struggled," he said. "I kind of had a feeling he was looking for first pitch curveball anyway, but stuck with it and should have thrown something different." SAYING GOODBYE Former third baseman Eric Chavez spoke for the last time as a player after he officially announced his retirement on Wednesday. "Just loved the opportunity to win, and we were able to do that for most of my time in Oakland and New York," the 17-year veteran and six-time Gold Glove winner said. "I dont want to say it was a tough decision. I dont plan on leaving the game forever. Im going to take a little break and jump back into it the first opportunity I have." ON DECK: Diamondbacks: Left-hander Vidal Nuno (0-2) starts the second game of the four-game series Friday. Nuno will be making his fifth start of the season and has a 3.47 earned-run average. It will be his second career start against Pittsburgh. Pirates: Right-hander Edinson Volquez (8-7) makes his 21st start of the season. He is 3-0 in his last four road starts with a 2.05 ERA and has won four of his last five decisions. TRAINERS ROOM Diamondbacks: Shortstop Chris Owings is getting close to swinging a bat and is taking ground balls. Manager Kirk Gibson said. Owings has been on the disabled list since June 29 with a left shoulder strain. Pirates: OF Starling Marte was eligible to come off the seven-day concussion disabled list on Wednesday but has not been activated. ' ' '