Blazers survive four-OT thriller, lead series 2-1
Rodney Hood checked back into the game, a fresh body among the weary ones all over the court.
Eager for postseason redemption after struggling in the playoffs last year, Hood got his chance Friday night.
All he had to do was wait until an NBA postseason record-tying fourth overtime.
Hood hit the key threepointer with 18.6 seconds left and the host Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 140-137 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Hood was a starter for Cleveland last season when the playoffs opened but fell out of favor and refused to check into the final minutes of a blowout win over Toronto in the second round. He was acquired by the Blazers in a February trade.
“I didn’t give up. I didn’t give up on myself, just kept playing, kept working,” he said. “I had no idea that I’d end up in Portland in this type of situation. But to be here, to have my family in the crowd when I saw a lot of sad faces last go-round, to be here is very emotional for me, to be quite frank.
“A lot more basketball to go, though. A lot more basketball.”
The Blazers and Nuggets played a lot already.
It was just the second quadruple-overtime playoff game in NBA history, joining a 1953 game between the Boston Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals.
CJ McCollum matched his career playoff high with 41 points, and Damian Lillard added 28 for Portland, which stretched its winning streak at home to 12 games dating back to the regular season.
Hood scored seven points in the final OT and helped the Blazers remain unbeaten at home this postseason.
Nikola Jokic had his third triple-double of the playoffs with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists, but missed a crucial free throw with 5.6 seconds to go. The 7-foot center played 65 minutes, two shy of the postseason record.
Jamal Murray had a playoff-high 34 points for the Nuggets. Game 4 is Sunday in Portland.
Bucks 123, Celtics 116: Giannis Antetokounmpo kept attacking and Boston kept fouling.
The fouls may have slowed the second half of Game 3, but nothing could stop Antetokounmpo from putting together a signature performance in TD Garden.
Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 13 rebounds, George Hill finished with 21 points and Milwaukeebeat Boston to take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Khris Middleton added 20 points.
Antetokounmpo had only 13 field-goal attempts but had 16 points from the free-throw line in a game that featured 53 total fouls called — 39 in the second half.
Including Milwaukee’s two regular-season games in Boston, Antetokounmpo has scored 30 or more points in each of his trips to TD Garden in 2018-19.
“I’m just gonna keep being aggressive. That’s what my teammates want me to do,” Antetokounmpo said. “If I have to take it all the way, I’ll take it all the way.”
Kyrie Irving scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum had 20 for the Celtics, who host Game 4 on Monday.
Boston led by a point at the half but was outscored 40-31 in the third quarter and trailed by as many as 17 points in the final period. The Celtics were also outscored 52-24 in the paint and had 18 turnovers leading to 28 Milwaukee points.
ELSEWHERE
A Raptors: Toronto said forward Pascal Siakam is doubtful for Sunday’s Game 4 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers with a right calf contusion.
Siakam has been Toronto’s second-leading scorer behind Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs, averaging 22.9 points per game. He played 34 minutes and scored 20 points on Thursday in Toronto’s Game 3 loss to the 76ers.