CJ McCollum matched his career playoff high with 41 points, Rodney Hood hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 18.6 seconds left in the NBA postseason record-tying fourth overtime and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 140-137 on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals. It was the second quadruple-overtime playoff game in NBA history, joining a 1953 game between the Boston Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals. McCollum scored 28 points after the third quarter and Damian Lillard added 28 in the game for Portland, which stretched its winning streak at home to 12 games dating back to the regular season. Hood came off the bench to score seven points in the final OT and help 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 7ft 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. Hood’s jumper re-tied the game at 133 with just over a minute left in the final overtime. Will Barton missed the first of two free throws for Denver before Hood added a baseline jumper. Paul Millsap’s hook shot with 27 seconds left gave the Nuggets the edge. But Hood’s three-pointer gave Portland a 138-136 lead as time wound down. Jokic missed the first of two free throws for Denver and Seth Curry made free throws for the Blazers to close it out. Hood finished with 19 points. Denver pulled in front 97-95 with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Lillard’s floater with 31 seconds left gave Portland a 102-100 lead, before Barton’s layup tied it. Al-Farouq Aminu missed a three-pointer for Portland with 6.7 seconds to go. In the first overtime, McCollum’s layup tied it at 109 with 8.7 seconds left and Jokic missed an off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer. With the game knotted at 118 in the second overtime, Jokic missed a three-pointer and a jump ball with 5.7 seconds left was grabbed by McCollum. Portland called a timeout with 4.1 seconds on the clock but Lillard missed a three-point attempt as time ran out. Millsap’s jumper with 32 seconds left gave the Nuggets a 129-125 lead in the third overtime, but Lillard’s bank shot closed the gap and he added a layup that re-tied it again with 8.4 seconds left. The Blazers, in the conference semifinals since 2016, have won the last two games after second-seeded Denver’s victory in Game 1. Maurice Harkless started for the Blazers after rolling his ankle in the second quarter of Game 2 and sitting out the rest of the way. Torrey Craig was also day-to-day but started for Denver, wearing a clear mask after his nose was bloodied in Wednesday’s game. Murray struggled with what looked like a right thigh injury that he tried to remedy by riding an exercise bike during Game 2, but it didn’t appear to be bothering him Friday and he led all scorers with 16 points in the opening half. Portland led by as many as 10 points in the opening half but the Nuggets pulled in front 38-37 on Murray’s running three-pointer. Portland went into the break with just a 48-47 edge. The Nuggets went ahead early in the second half. Enes Kanter, who at times rubbed the shoulder he hurt in the final first-round game against the Thunder, hit a three-pointer followed by a layup and a free throw to tie the game at 62 and slow Denver’s momentum. Bucks 123, Celtics 116 Giannis Antetokounmpo kept attacking and the Boston Celtics 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 the Milwaukee Bucks beat Boston 123-116 on Friday night 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. Irving acknowledged the fouls did slow down the game and stunt Boston’s efforts late. “It’s getting ridiculous at this point,” Irving said, using an expletive to describe the lulls the fouls created. The Bucks threw the Celtics a tactical curveball in Game 2, inserting Nikola Mirotic into the starting lineup in place of Sterling Brown. In Game 3 it was Celtics coach Brad Stevens who brought new wrinkles, notably going with a small lineup that featured 6-foot-7 Semi Ojeleye guarding the 6-11 Antetokounmpo when he returned to the game at the start of the second quarter and again in the third quarter. Boston also kept going at Antetokounmpo throughout the game when it had the ball. It included a one-handed dunk by Jaylen Brown over the Bucks’ star early in the third quarter that brought the Celtics fans inside TD Garden to their feet. It was reminiscent of a two-handed dunk he had over Antetokounmpo in Boston’s Game 1 win. Friday’s version complemented several nice defensive plays by Brown, including blocking a Tony Snell lay-up attempt off the backboard. Still, Milwaukee managed to keep racking up points in the paint. The Bucks led by as many as 12 in the third quarter and took a 95-87 lead into the fourth. That was the score when Brown was called for his fifth foul with 10:53 left on what appeared to be a light touch of Eric Bledsoe near the baseline. It brought animated protests from both Brown and Stevens. A few trips later, Tatum received a technical for protesting his foul of Antetokounmpo. Stevens said he didn’t think his team was overly frustrated by the foul calls. “I just think ultimately they made a lot of plays in that quarter and we didn’t,” he said. The Bucks started to rack up points at the line and their lead grew to 114-97 by the time Brown came back into the game with 4:53 remaining. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said Antetokounmpo is hard to stop when he’s this locked in to finding ways to score and get his teammates involved. “He’s just such a force. He can get through cracks,” Budenholzer said. “He’s going to finish or get to the free throw line a lot if he keeps playing like this.”<doc-sep>DENVER — After demolishing the Denver Nuggets with a dazzling and delicious performance that will go down in Portland Trail Blazers lore, CJ McCollum climbed the steps of the Pepsi Center in Section 129 in search of a hug. Sitting in a seat on the aisle about 15 rows up was Kathy Andrews, McCollum’s mother, and as her son sauntered up the steps, a tailored green suit draped around his shoulders, he couldn’t help but flash a victorious grin. Andrews pointed her cell phone at McCollum as he ascended, no doubt snatching video of the moment, and as he reached her she rose to share a Mother’s Day embrace the two will never forget. “He said he was going to do a good job for me,” Andrews said. “I told him that all I wanted for Mother’s Day was a win. He was like, ‘I told you so!” Fueled by the most impressive and important performance of McCollum’s career, a little redemption from Evan Turner and a whole lot of guts, the Blazers defeated the Nuggets 100-96 Sunday afternoon in Game 7 of the Western Conference Semifinals. It clinched a 4-3 series victory for the Blazers, who were playing just the fourth Game 7 in franchise history, and delivered a date with the vaunted Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals. It’s the seventh time in franchise history — and first since 2000 — the Blazers will play in the conference finals. “We don’t stop, we don’t quit,” Moe Harkless said. “When we came in at halftime, there was nobody in this locker room that thought we were going to lose the game. We showed it on the floor, we’ve showed that all season, all playoffs. We’ve been in situations where we had to really, really fight to come out on top. We’re at our best when our backs are against the wall. And I think we showed that again.” Indeed. Much like this improbable playoff run, the Blazers had to overcome a mound of adversity to keep their championship dreams alive. They scored just 17 points in the first quarter. They trailed by 17 points in the second quarter. They shot just 15 percent from three-point range. Damian Lillard had one of the coldest playoff outings of his career, Rodney Hood suffered a scary left knee injury and Zach Collins encountered foul trouble. But as if guided by fate — or the spirt of owner Paul Allen, some of them say — the resilient Blazers responded as they have all season when tragedy or challenge or injury strikes. There was Lillard fighting through a forgettable 3-for-17 shooting night to nail two clutch crunch-time three-pointers. There was Enes Kanter outlasting a Ramadan fast and sore left shoulder to record 12 points and 13 rebounds. There was Meyers Leonard battling Nikola Jokic on defense, Harkless applying intense ball-pressure on Jamal Murray and Collins playing through that foul trouble to produce an important seven points, five rebounds and four blocks. But, more than anything, there was a been-there, done-that effort from Turner. And there was a masterful performance from McCollum. And now a season that has suddenly evolved from fun to special will continue, with a date against the big, bad Warriors and a shot at history. “I just think we’re a pretty tough team,” Turner said. “We always stay together, we stay confident — we’ve always been a confident group. Everybody talks about the playoffs over the last two years and I think we paid our dues to get to this point, to be able to battle through. We’ve had adversity this whole year, with Paul going down, with (Jusuf Nurkic) going down and with Jon Yim getting in a car accident. Pressure can bust pipes or make diamonds. We never thought we were about to lose.” For McCollum, Sunday started with a text message. Shortly before the game, he peered at his phone and noticed an alert from his brother, Errick, who, in-between his own professional basketball games in Russia, was reaching out to offer a sage piece of advice: “Don’t settle,” he texted. Get to the midrange. Unleash the floater. Drive to the basket. Be aggressive. And, from beginning to end, that’s just what McCollum did. When his teammates were laboring through an ice-cold start — the Blazers made just 7 of 25 first-quarter shots — McCollum coolly made 4 of 6 and scored eight points to keep them afloat. When they were fighting tooth and nail to come back from a 17-point hole in the second quarter, he made 3 of 6 shots and scored seven points. Then he took over. McCollum sliced and diced his way around the Nuggets defense in jaw-dropping fashion, swishing step-back jumpers, completing crafty floaters, polishing off pretty drives to the hoop, nailing dagger after dagger after dagger. “He was a monster,” Harkless said of McCollum. “He was incredible. He carried us most of the game. He’s a killer and he did that tonight.” And two kill-shots will be remembered most. With 4:44 left and the Blazers clinging to a four-point lead, Jokic blocked Lillard’s driving layup, corralled the rebound and heaved the ball ahead to Murray at halfcourt. The Nuggets’ dynamic point guard broke free and sprinted toward an empty basket, with nothing but a highlight-reel, momentum-stealing dunk ahead. But Seth Curry caught up near the logo and ran stride for stride with Murray to the basket, stalling him just enough. By the time Murray approached the hoop, he had to settle for a left-handed layup and at the last second — out of nowhere — McCollum rose and swatted away the attempt, switching momentum in the blink of an eye. It was perhaps the most memorable and extraordinary chase-down block in franchise history. “I think it was a turnover that led to a runout,” McCollum said. “They passed it ahead. Seth did a great job of cutting off his man, making him have to go over his head and he put it right there for me. I just went and got it — Bron style. Shoutout to my guy, Bron.” Bron, of course, is LeBron James. And McCollum was comparing his moment to that of James’ famous chase-down block on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. “It was a mini version of Bron,” McCollum said. “I definitely didn’t get up as high. But it was a cool play. It’s something that I will remember all my life. I might need a picture of that one.” He might want to save a frame for his biggest shot of the game, too. After rallying from that 17-point deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead, the Blazers were fighting off a hard charge from the Nuggets. And when Murray swished a tough jumper over Harkless with 29.7 seconds left, Denver was within 96-95. An exhilarating series that featured everything from quadruple overtime to triple-doubles to mini-melees would fittingly go down to the wire. During a timeout, McCollum told Terry Stotts that he wanted the ball and the Blazers’ coach obliged, calling four flat and putting the ball — and the game — in McCollum’s hands. He dribbled patiently on the perimeter, allowing a little time to tick off the clock, and with about 18 seconds left he went to work. McCollum sized up Torrey Craig outside the three-point line, rocked side-to-side and then darted toward the hoop, stopping on a dime near the free throw line. McCollum gave Craig a little MJ-esque shove, stepped back, and swished a no-doubt-about-it, 16-foot jumper. It gave the Blazers a 98-95 lead and proved to be the difference. McCollum’s final line: 37 points, nine rebounds, 17 of 29 shooting and one big ol’ I-told-you-so. Few Blazers have excelled through as many detractors as the scrawny kid from Ohio who could only muster a mid-major college scholarship. He was too small to play shooting guard, too defensively challenged to succeed alongside Lillard, too streaky to flourish in the playoffs. Most pundits and many fans had long ago decided McCollum needed to be traded for the Blazers to become a serious threat in the Western Conference.<doc-sep>Garrett Ellwood/Getty Images The Portland Trail Blazers are headed to the Western Conference Finals after a Game 7 victory over the Denver Nuggets. CJ McCollum was the star with 37 points in the 100-96 road win Sunday at Pepsi Center. His clutch shot in the final minute helped seal the win for Portland: Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon Damian Lillard struggled with his shot but still finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help the Trail Blazers reach the third round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2000. Denver appeared to be in control with as much as a 17-point lead in the first half, but Portland stormed back in the third and eventually secured the hard-fought victory. Meanwhile, the Nuggets' impressive season comes to an end despite 29 points from Nikola Jokic and 17 from Jamal Murray. Blazers Need a Consistent Third Option to Get Past Dubs This has been a dream season for the Trail Blazers with the postseason going extremely well after a couple of disappointing early exits. Unfortunately, the upcoming series can be a difficult one if things don't go perfectly. CJ McCollum was the clear star of Game 7, finishing with 37 on 17-of-29 shooting while looking unstoppable at times attacking the basket: Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon He was the biggest reason the team was even competitive in the first half: The guard turned it on even more in the second half with 22 of his total points after halftime, even adding a huge defensive play in the fourth quarter: After several big games during this series, he showed that he probably deserves more than to be in the shadow of "Dame Time." On a night where Damian Lillard couldn't get anything going while finishing 3-of-17 from the court, McCollum was exactly what Portland needed. Of course, we know Lillard can carry the team as well when he is on, scoring at least 28 points in eight of 12 games this postseason. This included his 50-point effort in the clinching win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lillard and McCollum combine to make one of the top backcourts in the NBA, and a big game from either one is enough to beat most teams in the league. Unfortunately, it's not enough to beat the Warriors. Golden State has an offense that just doesn't quit, leading the NBA in offensive efficiency this year, per Basketball Reference. Even if Kevin Durant is less than 100 percent, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have shown that they can still light up the scoreboard and make the team near impossible to defend. If the Trail Blazers want to keep up, they will need both guards to play well and at least one other player to emerge as a go-to option. Rodney Hood looked like that player at times this series, but he left Sunday's game with a hyperextended knee and only had six points in 20 minutes before the injury. While the wing was outstanding in Game 6, he was also nearly absent in the team's losses. The same could be said about Enes Kanter, who was a key part of the Game 7 win with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The problem is he had gone three straight games without hitting double figures before this one. Evan Turner also played well Sunday with 14 points and seven boards, which was once again a change from the rest of the series: It's clear the Blazers have talent, but whether it's one of these players or Seth Curry or someone else, they won't be able to win another series without one of the players providing legitimate production every single night. The Nuggets Are Here to Stay Even without advancing to the conference finals, the Nuggets showed that their record during the season was not a fluke. The team showcased throughout the playoffs and even in the Game 7 loss exactly what made Denver so dangerous all year long. It also showed why the team should remain a threat going into next year. Although Jokic has had better all-around games, he looked good offensively Sunday when he called his own number: Video Play Button McCollum and the Blazers Snapped Postseason Losing Streak for "Jennifer" Stars Invest in Plant-Based Food as Vegetarianism Sweeps NBA The NBA Got Some Wild Techs This Season Jarrett Allen Is One of the NBA’s Hottest Rim Protectors Wade's Jersey Swaps Created Epic Moments This Season Westbrook Makes History While Honoring Nipsey Hussle Devin Booker Makes History with Scoring Tear 29 Years Ago, Jordan Dropped Career-High 69 Points Bosh Is Getting His Jersey Raised to the Rafters in Miami Steph Returns to Houston for 1st Time Since His Moon Landing Troll Lou Williams Is Coming for a Repeat of Sixth Man of the Year Pat Beverley Has the Clippers Stealing the LA Shine LeBron Keeps Shredding NBA Record Books Young's Hot Streak Is Heating Up the ROY Race with Luka LeBron and 2 Chainz Form a Superteam to Release a New Album Wade's #OneLastDance Dominated February Warriors Fans Go Wild After Unforgettable Moments with Steph Eight Years Ago, the Nuggets Traded Melo to the Knicks Two Years Ago, the Kings Shipped Boogie to the Pelicans ASG Will Be Competitive Again If the NBA Raises the Stakes Right Arrow Icon He only had two assists, but he realized the importance of this game and finished 11-of-26 from the field to get 29 points. In addition to the All-Star center, one of the major strengths of the team is the backcourt depth with several different players capable of stepping up on a given night. Jamal Murray had been a key part of the series, entering the day averaging 24.7 points per game, but struggled mightily in Game 7 by going 4-of-18 from the field. However, he still was there when needed with six points in the last 3:09 of the game.<doc-sep>
DENVER —The Denver Nuggets opened a 39-22 lead over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 7 on Sunday. Nikola Jokic was hot. Damian Lillard was cold. A date with the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference finals seemed inevitable. But CJ McCollum had other ideas. The Blazers’ second option was often their only option as he rallied Portland from an early 17-point deficit to lead the Blazers into the Western Conference finals with a 100-96 victory. As Lillard missed bucket after bucket, McCollum slid into the alpha role to pace Portland with 37 points and nine rebounds against a Nuggets defense that was helpless to stop him at the rim. McCollum clutch throughout As it was throughout the second half, it was McCollum’s game in crunch time as he held on to the ball in the final moments to sink a pull-up jumper to give Portland a 98-95 lead with 11.4 seconds remaining. After fouls and free throws on both ends, the game was over and Portland was headed to the Western Conference finals. CJ McCollum shined on the massive stage of Game 7 Sunday. (Getty) McCollum did his damage without depending on the long ball. He regularly attacked the basket, exploiting a soft spot in Denver’s interior defense for layups and floaters while hitting 17-of-29 shots from the field. Only one of those buckets was from beyond the 3-point line on three attempts. While he torched the Nuggets with the ball in his hands, his biggest play may have been on defense with a late transition block of Denver guard Jamal Murray. CJ’s big block As the Nuggets looked to seize momentum in the latter half of the fourth quarter, Murray found himself on a one-man break with a chance to cut Portland’s lead to two. Jokic had just blocked a driving layup by Lillard and secured the rebound under the rim. He found a streaking Murray at half-court via one of his trademark outlet passes in what had the makings of a play that would blow the roof off the Pepsi Center and give a deflated Denver team an energy resurgence in the final minutes of the game. Story continues But Seth Curry impeded Murray’s path to the basket, and McCollum chased Murray down from behind for a rally-halting block. A beaming McCollum likened the play to LeBron James’ famous chase-down block of Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. “He put it right there for me,” McCollum said of Murray. “I went and got it, ’Bron style. Shout out to my guy, ’Bron. It was a mini version of ’Bron’s block on Iggy some years ago. It was a cool play and something that we’ll remember for forever.” Lillard struggles, defers Lillard, Portland’s best player and first-round hero with his series-clinching 3-pointer to vanquish the Oklahoma City Thunder, was reduced to a role player as he hit just 3-of-17 shots from the field. He missed his first six shots and didn’t score until hitting a midrange jump shot with 6:10 remaining in the second quarter. Meanwhile, McCollum was heating up en route to a 15-point first half. When the third quarter rolled around, Lillard was in full deference mode to McCollum, who scored 14 points in the stanza as Lillard went scoreless on three shots. Lillard found other ways to contribute, tallying 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, while recognizing it was his backcourt mate’s time to shine in the pressure cooker of a road Game 7. “I just tried to focus on making the right plays,” Lillard said. “CJ had it going. When I see him in that type of zone, I’m not going to shy away from the game, I’m still gonna be involved in the game. But I’m not gonna force anything.” Stephen Curry and the Warriors await the Trial Blazers. (AP) Splash Brothers up next McCollum’s performance will help set the tone for the marquee matchup of the Western Conference finals against the league’s best backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. When Kevin Durant got injured in Game 5 of Golden State’s series against the Houston Rockets, the Splash Brothers reasserted themselves, taking over the rest of the series in a throwback to their dominant selves before Kevin Durant arrived to become Golden State’s featured player. With Durant’s status for the series up in the air, the focus in Golden State will remain on the backcourt.