The Nuggets and Blazers played the second quadruple-overtime game in NBA playoff history Friday night, and Portland survived at home to win a pivotal game and take a 2-1 series lead.
In a game where both teams had multiple opportunities to win the game at the end of overtime periods, the Nuggets held a four-point lead with 30 seconds to play in the third period of OT, but Damian Lillard made back-to-back layups to send the game to a fourth overtime.
CJ McCollum carried the Blazers throughout the game with 41 points, but it was Rodney Hood who made the difference for the Blazers in the fourth overtime. Hood scored seven points, and hit a cold-blooded three pointer to put the Blazers up 138-136 with 18 seconds remaining.
Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had a chance to tie the game at the line in the final seconds, but he missed his first free throw, and the Blazers held on for the win.
A total of nine different players played at least 45 minutes. Two different players played at least 60 minutes, led by Jokic with 65. The series will continue in less than 48 hours with Game 4 on Sunday.
Fans watching the game were exhausted.
