Game 2 is a distant memory.
After an impressive blowout of epic proportions by the Oklahoma City Thunder just 48 hours earlier, the Denver Nuggets licked their wounds, regained their composure and their form Friday in a 113-104 overtime victory in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at home.
The Nuggets rallied from a five-point halftime deficit, 56-51, and Aaron Gordon knocked down a 3-pointer with 26.7 seconds remaining to tie the game at 102.
MVP finalists Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic each had their own opportunity to win it in regulation, but Gilgeous-Alexander missed a floater and Jokic’s turnaround jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.
Jokic responded with a layup to start the extra session, that ignited a 7-0 Nuggets run and sent the Ball Arena crowd into an uproar. Michael Porter Jr., who has been playing with a sprained AC joint, followed Jokic’s bucket with a 3, and Jamal Murray gave the Nuggets a 109-102 lead on a fast-break layup off a Thunder turnover.
A Thunder team that looked invincible after their 149-106 victory in Game 2 was done. Gilgeous-Alexander struggled down the stretch, totaling three points in the fourth quarter and overtime, as the Nuggets seized control. And the NBA’s best team from the regular season with a 68-14 record, did not find an answer in overtime.
The Nuggets maintain the home-court advantage they stole from the Thunder with a come-from-behind stunner in Game 1, 121-119.
The win for the Nuggets comes in the aftermath of Wednesday’s massacre to Oklahoma City that saw the Thunder set a playoff record with 87 first-half points. But margins of victory do not mean a thing in the grand scheme.
Denver’s two-point win in Game 1 and nine-point win in Game 3 are enough to overcome Oklahoma City’s 43-point thrashing for control of the series over the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.
Embed from Getty Images“It’s just a loss,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said before Friday’s game about Game 2. “I know that they broke records or whatever. But it’s 1-1. I didn’t feel embarrassment. I felt like they played great, and we played bad. And it’s sports, and sometimes that happens.”
Slowed by a nagging shoulder injury while struggling on the road, Porter Jr. managed 10 total points in Games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City. Back home in the friendly confines of Denver he returned as an impact player while tallying 21 points and eight boards and shooting 5 of 6 from beyond the arc.
Porter’s playoffs up to this point have been up and down at best, and he has frequently found himself in the doghouse on Adelman’s bench in high-stake situations when he has struggled. But that was not the case Friday night. Porter led the Nuggets at halftime with 15 points, paced by his hot shooting from 3-point range. The coaching staff believed in him down the stretch, and it paid off with his overtime 3-pointer that helped sink the Thunder.
Porter acknowledged after the game that he has been taking lidocaine injections to numb the pain in the shoulder and that he did so again on Friday to address what he said was initially diagnosed as a 4-6 week injury. He still feels limited from being “able to fully play physical or bump guys the way that I’d like to.” But he was able to find his shooting when Denver needed it most.
“I knew there would be games where I wasn’t able to produce how I wanted to, or maybe I wouldn’t be able to, but it’s the playoffs, and I wanted to go out there and at least try,” Porter said. “It’s been an up-and-down playoffs for me, but that’s OK, because we’re in a good position as a team.”
The Thunder has successfully pressured and quieted Murray and used active hands inside to limit Denver’s looks near the hoop and keep Jokic somewhat contained. It game plan was effective for the most part on Friday. The Thunder forced 14 Nuggets turnovers and flustered Jokic for much of the game.
Jokic finished with 20 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. But he shot 8 of 25 from the field, including a 0-for-10 effort from downtown that was the worst of his playoff career. He turned the ball over eight times, also a career playoff worst.
But the Nuggets overcame those roadblocks, thanks in part to a hot shooting night from 3 (16 of 40, 40%) that was paced by Porter.
“The way they’re guarding — and it’s why they’re one of the best defensive teams in the league, they’re one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Adelman said postgame. “They’re taking away the paint. So, we’ve got to be able to knock down open shots. And when Michael’s making shots, it obviously makes the court that much bigger or feel that much bigger.”
In the end, Porter’s contribution was part of a balanced scoring effort that saw four out of the five Nuggets starters score 20-plus points. Murray finished with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting, and Gordon had 22 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range.
Gordon’s 3-pointer to force overtime followed his game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk to sink the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of Denver’s first-round series and his game-winning 3-pointer to sink the Thunder in Game 1.
Clutch Gordon is becoming a huge story line in this year’s playoffs.
“AG, he must got the angels with him,” Porter said of Gordon after the game. “I’m so proud of him.”
Murray credited Gordon’s big shots to his hard work, preparation and dedication in the lab.
“I just think he’s always ready and obviously he puts the work in to get there,” Murray said. “It’s truly a testament to his whole life of manifesting, being ready for it, thinking about it, dreaming about it.
“And when it’s time to go do it, you’ve done everything to prepare for those kind of moments. AG’s always ready for the moment.”
