The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. - This one figured to be a blowout, just not in favor of the Denver Nuggets.

Former Xavier star James Posey had his first career triple-double with 19 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists as Denver earned its first win this season, 96-79 over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night.

"It's a great win for a young, hardworking basketball team, especially coming off a tough home loss last night," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "We showed a lot of heart and character. It's something to build on."

Donnell Harvey added a career-high 15 points for the Nuggets, who dominated the second half even without forward Juwan Howard. He missed the game because of a stomach virus.

Howard, suspended by the NBA for the first two games of the season following a fight in an exhibition game against Indiana, was set to make his season debut before the illness.

"Everybody contributed, everybody helped each other out on the defensive end," Posey said. "It was a team effort tonight. We were able to put four quarters together, and when they made a little run we still made shots, stayed composed."

Chris Anderson had 12 points and Nene Hilario added 10 for Denver, which had six players in double figures.

Rasheed Wallace led the Blazers with 21 points and eight rebounds. Portland has lost two straight after opening the season with a win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Derek Anderson had 16 points.

Portland lost center Arvydas Sabonis after straining his right hamstring early in the second quarter. Forward Scottie Pippen, who has been slow to recover from offseason knee surgery, played just 3 minutes, all in the second quarter.

"Right now, it seems like we're out of sync," Blazers guard Antonio Daniels said. "It should never be a thing where a team shows much more heart and more passion than we did. That's disappointing."

After a promising win over a depleted Lakers team, the Blazers suddenly look like a team in disarray.

Already coach Maurice Cheeks has had to call a team meeting to address complaints over playing time and a verbal confrontation between Daniels and fellow newcomer Jeff McInnis during Thursday's loss at Sacramento.

"That was as poor a game as any since I've been here," Cheeks said. "There was just nothing there, nothing there at all. No matter who I put into the game, it was the same story: no energy."

Denver erased a six-point halftime deficit with a 16-6 run to open the second half. The Blazers were never able to regain the lead after that. For the game, the Nuggets shot 59.2 percent from the field and outrebounded Portland 41-23.

"Coach definitely wants us to go inside first then out, once we do that we're going to dominate," Chris Anderson said. "We were lacking that in the first couple of games, not going inside first, pulling up with 19, 20 seconds on the clock. We took our time tonight and just went through the offense and made sure things happened."

Portland exploited the loss of Howard early, as Wallace dropped in eight points in the first five minutes of the game against Chris Anderson, but only four the remainder of the half.

The Nuggets took advantage of Portland's defense to shoot 63.2 percent in the first quarter and 55.6 percent for the half. Denver led 25-22 after one.

But nine turnovers in the second quarter let the Blazers take control in the late stages of the half and carry a 49-43 lead into halftime.

The 7-foot-4 Sabonis left with 10:41 remaining in the second quarter after entering at the start of the period.

He was called for a foul on a dunk by Hilario, immediately walked to the bench and was taken out. Trainer Jay Jensen accompanied him to the locker room.

Sabonis was not expected to play Sunday in Los Angeles against the Lakers. He is making a comeback with the Blazers after taking last year off.

Notes: Denver begins a four-game homestand Tuesday against Atlanta. ... Five of Portland's next six games are on the road, starting with a rematch against the Lakers in Los Angeles. ... Portland continued its early-season woes from the free-throw line. The Blazers made just 14 of 23 free throws. They are 42-for-71 on the year, 59 percent.