Once again the combination of guard CJ McCollum and point guard Damian Lillard, who contributed 69 points, was the key that allowed the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Denver Nuggets 140-137 in the fourth overtime of Game 3 of the season. semifinal eliminator of the Western Conference that dominate 2-1 to the best of seven.
McCollum, who tied his best mark as a professional in the playoffs with 41 points, always scored the decisive goals, Lillard supported him and guard Rodney Wood scored a key triple with 18.6 seconds left to conclude the fourth overtime.
Then reserve point guard Seth Curry, with two personnel shots, secured the victory for the Trail Blazers, who along with the Nuggets tied the four overtime mark in a final round game.
The duel between both teams was the first to be defined in four overtime periods since the Boston Celtics did it against the Syracuse Nationals, in the final phase of 1953.
Lillard finished with 28 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two ball recoveries, which helped the Trail Blazers maintain a 12-game winning streak at their Moda Center field.
Hood, who came off the bench, emerged as the sixth player and winning factor of surprise by scoring 19 points, including seven in the fourth overtime, and the Trail Blazers remain undefeated in their field going into the finals.
The Swiss Turkish center Enes Kanter once again played a leading role in the inner game, scoring a double-double of 18 points, 15 rebounds and three ball recoveries.
While the Puerto Rican forward Maurice Harkless also achieved a double-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds, distributed three assists, recovered a ball, and put two blocks to complete the list of the five players of the Trail Blazers who had numbers of two digits.
Serbian center Nikola Jokic was once again the main protagonist of the game and the undisputed leader of the Nuggets by contributing a triple-double of 33 points, 18 rebounds, 14 assists, and two blocks.
Jokic, however, had eight turnovers and also missed the first personnel throw that prevented the Trail Blazers from tying the score at 138 down the stretch of fourth overtime, with 5.6 seconds remaining.
Canadian guard Jamal Murray also set his best individual record in the playoffs with 34 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Forward Will Barton, who came out of reserve, played his best game of the playoffs, contributing 22 points in 39 minutes, in which he scored 8 of 18 shots from the field, including 3 of 7 triples.
In addition to capturing nine rebounds, he distributed three assists, recovered two balls, lost another two and put up three blocks, leading the team in that facet of the game.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone still did not have Spanish power forward Juancho Hernangómez, who has not had a minute to play so far in the semifinal series.
The fourth game of the series will be played on Sunday on the same stage at the Moda Center.
The Nuggets took the lead early in the second half, but Kanter, who had a sore left shoulder that dislocated during the first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, hit a 3-pointer, followed by a penetration and personnel shot that allowed the Trail Blazers to tie at 62 and change the dynamics of the game. EFE