PORTLAND, ORE. — Before the game, Nuggets coach Michael Malone wasn’t about to give any validation to the notion that energy level should be an issue just because Wednesday night’s game was his team’s fourth in five nights.

He had just watched Cleveland, in that same situation, vanquish his team the night before. Malone had every expectation his crew could pull the same trick at Portland. And he was right. Energy was not an issue. But defense was — specifically, keeping Portland players out of the paint. Blazers guard C.J. McCollum lived there all night long and was the spark behind the Trail Blazers’ 110-103 win over the Nuggets at the Moda Center.

“I told the guys, I’m tired of the ‘hey I’m proud of you guys, you competed but you came up short.’ That gets old after awhile,” Malone said. “Obviously we need to see some positivity, some wins, a payoff for the hard work. That hasn’t come lately and that’s frustrating.”

Portland survived a big night from an old friend, Will Barton, who returned to his old stomping grounds to pour in 31 points.

It was the first time the home crowd had been able to see this Barton, this player who with each high-energy, high-scoring performance is capturing the hearts of Nuggets fans. He did not disappoint. Barton, who was drafted by the Blazers in 2012, came into the game firing — and hitting — and did not stop until the points piled up to just one short of his career high.

“It’s bittersweet,” Barton said. “I wanted to get the win real bad.”

The problem?

He was being matched nearly shot for shot by McCollum, who answered Barton’s point total with 29 of his own.

And McCollum had help.

Allen Crabbe was the second big-time scorer the Nuggets didn’t have. Crabbe scored 20 points, and his 3-pointer with just under three minutes to go was one of the daggers that helped Portland keep the Nuggets at bay.

The Portland starting lineup gave the Nuggets fits all night long. Four of the five scored in double figures as the Nuggets scrambled to keep up. The night was symbolically Portland’s when forward Al-Farouq Aminu, not known for his ball handling, dribbled through a pressing Nuggets defense — going around the back to escape pressure at one point, then dished to a baseline-cutting Mo Harkless, who threw down a huge dunk and brought the Moda Center crowd to its feet. Portland led 93-80. Another Harkless bucket, a 3-pointer, gave Portland a 16-point lead.

The Nuggets cut the lead to as few as five, but couldn’t get over the hump.

“You give them 21 points off of turnovers, that’s always a problem,” Malone said. “We did a poor job defending for most of the game.”

It resulted in their fourth straight loss and seventh in the last eight games. Gary Harris had 19 points, and Jameer Nelson bounced back from zero points on Tuesday night against Cleveland to put in 14 against Portland.

“I think this is one that we could have definitely won,” guard Randy Foye said. “Even though it was four games in five days, we could have gotten this one.”