Portland, OR (My Sportsbook) - The Denver Nuggets seek their first win of the season when they travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers Saturday.

The Nuggets are off to an 0-2 start after losses to Minnesota and Houston.

In Denver's home-opener on Friday, Steve Francis scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Rockets over the Nuggets, 83-74, at the Pepsi Center.

James Posey posted 16 points and seven boards for the Nuggets. Off the bench, Kenny Satterfield scored 13 and rookie Nikoloz Tskitishvili added 10. Denver had won the last three meetings at home against Houston.

The Nuggets will get a much-needed boost for Saturday's game, as Juwan Howard is eligible to return after serving a two-game suspension. Howard had been handed the penalty by the NBA for throwing punches during his team's preseason game against Indiana.

Portland is coming off its first loss of the season, a humbling 100-72 setback to high-powered Sacramento, which played without Chris Webber, Mike Bibby and Doug Christie.

Rasheed Wallace paced the Blazers with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Bonzi Wells scored 11 for Portland, which dropped its fifth straight in Sacramento. Dale Davis grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds in the loss.

Derek Anderson ended with 10 points for the Blazers, who made just 7-of-17 free throws and committed 16 turnovers.

The Blazers had posted a 102-90 victory over the LA Lakers in their season- opener on Wednesday.

The Nuggets and Blazers split four meetings last season, with the home team winning each game. Denver has lost its last four games at Portland and 13 of its previous 14.