NUGGETS FALL TO BLAZERS 140-137 IN 4OT MARATHON
Nuggets fall to Trail Blazers 140-137 in longest playoff game since 1953
PORTLAND» After his first-round dagger, Damian Lillard’s legend soared as high as it’s ever been.
Friday night, it was Lillard’s teammates that claimed one of the most timeless postseason victories in recent memory.
After four overtimes and 24 lead changes, the Trail Blazers were the last team standing. They survived Friday night’s slugfest, 140-137, to take a 2-1 series lead.
As long as anyone can walk, Game 4 is Sunday.
The loss spoiled Nikola Jokic’s inimitable night. The Nuggets’ franchise star played 65 minutes and registered 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists. His missed free throw late in the fourth overtime session opened the window for a Blazers win, and two Seth Curry free throws clinched it.
Lillard had his seminal moment of the postseason. Friday was for C.J. McCollum, who ripped off a game-high 41 points. Lillard finished with 28, his sidekick seizing the playoff spotlight.
Regulation wouldn’t suffice for a contest as legendary as Game 3.
The Nuggets, down six several minutes into the fourth quarter, stormed back behind Jokic’s offensive genius and two devastating jumpers from Jamal Murray before anyone knew what was to come. The Nuggets leaned heavily on Murray in the extra sessions. He finished with 34 points on 32
shots.
Blazers wing Moe Harkless sunk consecutive buckets late in regulation before Lillard drained a flawless runner to give the Blazers a 102-100 lead.
With less than 30 seconds left, Jokic found Will Barton on a backdoor cut behind Lillard to tie it at 102 and silence the Moda Center crowd. With a chance to win the game, neither team found anything of substance before the first overtime.
The Nuggets were up six – their biggest lead of the game – two minutes into the third quarter before Lillard and his teammates found an offensive spark. Kanter reeled off 10 points, including a rare 3-pointer, while Rodney Hood and Zach Collins each connected from deep. Then Lillard time came early. He converted on one of his signature deep 3-pointers and swerved through the paint for another clutch layup.
Only Jokic, who carried the Nuggets’ offense with 17 points in the quarter, kept it close with his long-range missiles, and Denver entered the fourth down just 8176.
Even though Lillard dropped 39 in the Blazers’ Game 1 loss, the Nuggets entered Friday feeling good about their defensive pressure on the MVP candidate.
“You gotta give a lot of credit to Torrey and Gary and Malik,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “You also have to give our bigs a lot of credit. They have changed their offense … In the regular season, they are a constant movement, pass, cut, flare screen. In the playoffs, it is pickand-roll after pick-and-roll after pick-and-roll. Our bigs are in 50 pick-and-rolls a game. So we don’t have any Damian Lillard answers. But our guys are working hard, they’re buying in and they’re showing pretty good game-plan discipline.”
Craig, wearing a protective mask after suffering a nasal contusion in Game 2, once again drew the assignment on Portland’s explosive guard.
“It’s not good breathing out of,” Craig said at Friday’s shootaround. “It’s kind of hard to see from the side. It’s definitely a challenge wearing it, but I’d rather wear it to protect my face than not wear it.”
Despite the impediment, he said it wouldn’t affect his willingness to scrap. It didn’t; Craig came up with a number of hustle plays that helped Denver’s defense on the margins.
“If it gets hit again, it gets hit again,” Craig said. “I’m gonna continue to play the same way I’ve played, going for loose balls, making hustle plays, doing whatever I can for us to get a win.”
Malone called Craig’s attitude inspirational and was proud that the Pepsi Center crowd acknowledged his toughness late in Game 2.
“He’s just tough,” Malone said. “That’s what you need. The playoffs are about grit, toughness and resiliency. “
Throughout the majority of the first half, it felt like a repeat of the Nuggets’ offensive slog from Game 2. They couldn’t hit from outside, and the Blazers had successfully baffled Jokic into multiple turnovers.
But down 10 early in the second quarter, Beasley and Murray began trading buckets, and Denver’s 3-point shooting started to thaw. Both knocked down two 3-pointers each as part of a 30-point quarter. The Nuggets entered halftime down 48-47 despite shooting just 39 percent from the field.
Portland wasn’t any better as the combination of Lillard and McCollum connected on just 6 of 16 shots.