PORTLAND, Ore. -- Much like his Portland Trail Blazers did as a team, center Enes Kanter got the last word against his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates and coaches after Portland's series-ending 118-115 win Tuesday night. "CAN play Kanter," he tweeted less than an hour after Damian Lillard's 37-foot 3-pointer gave the Blazers a 4-1 series victory. That comment was in reference to an infamous video from Game 1 of the Thunder's 2017 first-round series against the Houston Rockets, when the TNT broadcast caught Oklahoma City coach Billy Donovan appearing to say "Can't play Kanter" following a Rockets score. Donovan later explained to reporters that the comment was taken out of context in a discussion of pick-and-roll coverages, but Kanter played only 29 minutes over the remaining four games of the series. This time around, Kanter -- a midseason pickup by the Blazers -- started in place of injured Portland center Jusuf Nurkic and averaged 29.3 minutes per game in the series, as well as 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds. Kanter did so during Tuesday's Game 5 while playing through a separated left shoulder suffered in the first quarter. He received an injection in the shoulder at halftime and gutted his way through 32 minutes despite clearly being pain at times. "I just tried to play through it," Kanter said afterward. "We'll see what happens in the future." The Blazers will have at least through Saturday off as they await the winner of the Denver-San Antonio series, which the Nuggets lead 3-2 heading into Thursday's Game 6, as their next opponent. For now, teammates and coaches were impressed with Kanter's ability to play with pain. "Even with the pain, he was posting up," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "We played through him a little bit in the fourth quarter. He got some big rebounds but the toughness he showed, I think it's a little indicative of our team, the fact that everybody does whatever they can to get a win." Said Lillard: "Even after he got fouled and hurt his shoulder, he came down and hit free throws. It was just a grind-it-out game. I think from top to bottom, everybody who touched the floor tonight showed toughness. He was one of the main guys that did." The Blazers were only able to sign Kanter after the New York Knicks waived him midseason, having previously benched the 26-year-old center in favor of younger alternatives. After Tuesday's game, Kanter showed his gratitude for that opportunity. "First of all, I have to definitely thank the Knicks for waiving me," he said to laughter from the assembled media. "That would never happen if they didn't waive me, so I want to appreciate the whole Knicks organization. Then I want to appreciate all the teams that didn't pick me. I tried to actually sign with lots of teams that weren't really interested. "I'm glad that Dame and GM Neil [Olshey] texted me and I picked Portland. It was definitely amazing. It was a blessing." If not for joining the Blazers, Kanter might not have had the opportunity to prove his playoff ability, having missed the postseason last year in New York. After Game 1, he said he talked with Donovan after the infamous "Can't play him" quote and accepted his coach's explanation. But with Portland moving on and his former team heading home, Kanter's tweet said everything about the satisfaction this victory provided.<doc-sep>Four overtimes took a different kind of toll on Enes Kanter. The former Knick played a career-high 56 minutes with a separated left shoulder in his Trail Blazers’ eventual 140-137 triumph over the Denver Nuggets in Game 3 of their Western Conference second-round series on Friday night in Portland. Kanter, whose team now leads the series 2-1, said he aggravated his shoulder while scoring 18 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in the longest NBA playoff game since 1953. “First overtime, I think I separated my shoulder more,” Kanter told reporters after the game with his shoulder heavily wrapped. “I had to tuck my arm into my jersey because I couldn’t carry my arm. I’m glad we got a win, man. Whatever it takes. You’ve got to sacrifice everything. I’m proud of my teammates.” Kanter, who was released by the Knicks in February, has been dealing with the injury since Game 5 of the Trail Blazers’ first-round series win over the Thunder and he was questionable even to play in this series. Instead he’s averaging more than 30 minutes per game. Things, however, got a lot tougher for him after he aggravated the injury Friday night. Kanter said she could no longer feel his shoulder, but pushed on anyway. “The whole crowd was cheering,” Kanter said. “Dame [Lillard] came up to me and said, ‘Hey, one more overtime.’ He said this three times. ‘One more overtime. Come on, let’s play hard.’ I didn’t want to quit on my teammate.” Kanter’s status for Game 4 on Sunday is uncertain, now. He said sometimes you have to make sacrifices to win and he will “get some painkillers for the next game.” “I hope I can play,” Kanter said. “But I’ll be fine.”<doc-sep>Friday’s quadruple-overtime thriller that saw the Portland Trail Blazers take a 2-1 series lead over the Denver Nuggets featured many memorable moments — big shots, big turnovers and a game the NBA hasn’t seen the likes of since 1953. Lost in the shuffle was a hard elbow delivered by Denver’s All-Star center Nikola Jokic in the direction of Portland’s Enes Kanter and his recently separated left shoulder. But Kanter didn’t forget about it. Kanter was questionable to play to start the series after suffering the injury late in Portland’s first-round win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kanter to NBA: ‘Take a freaking look’ at Jokic elbow But he started Game 1 and has played well through the painful injury. He did not appreciate Jokic’s physical play in Game 3 and didn’t even get to bed early Saturday before pleading with NBA officials to “take a freaking look” at the play. Kanter’s biggest struggle with the injury has been pain management. He talked after Game 1 about using painkillers and injections to stay on the floor. That looked like it hurt. Terry Stotts: ‘I certainly don’t approve of it’ Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts took a look at the play after the game and talked about it Saturday. He, too, is not pleased with the play. “Yes, I have seen it and I think it was uncalled for,” Stotts told reporters Saturday. “I don’t know if the league will review it or not, but I certainly didn’t approve of it.” The NBA hasn’t responded, and it seems unlikely any action will be taken for what would generally be chalked up to a hard playoff play. Story continues But if the league decides to review the play, it has the option of assessing a flagrant foul retroactively if it sees fit. Nikola Jokic Enes Kanter Michael Malone backs Jokic Nuggets coach Michael Malone — to nobody’s surprise — didn’t have a problem with the play and stood up for his best player. Like a true coaching pro, he used the moment to point the finger back at what he saw as hard screens set by the Trail Blazers in the series. "Normal play," Malone told reporters. "I think Terry is off-base there. Personally, I don't think it was anything malicious. Just like some of their screens in the first two games, I don't think there was anything malicious to it — with Kanter getting tossed into Torrey Craig. This is the playoffs. We're all big boys, let's go out and play the game accordingly. "I have known Nikola Jokic for four years," Malone continued, “He doesn't have that kind of personality, he doesn't have that DNA gene where he's going to go out there and make non-basketball plays and try to hurt anybody or do anything that is beyond the limits of what is sportsmanship and what is not sportsmanship. So I would definitely not agree with Terry's assessment." Kanter says shoulder in worse shape Kanter told reporters after Friday’s game that he felt like he “separated my shoulder more” during the game. The Blazers did not provide a status update for Kanter ahead of Sunday’s Game 4. A series that’s getting less attention than the other three conference semifinal matchups sure is shaping up to be the most interesting of the playoffs. Saturday, May 4<doc-sep>Kanter (shoulder) has been cleared to play Sunday against the Nuggets in Game 4, Harrison Wind of BSNDenver.com reports. Kanter has put on an impressive display of toughness throughout the series, and he'll continue to do so Sunday after logging 56 minutes in a quadruple-overtime victory Friday. He's been able to make an impact even with a separated shoulder and is averaging 19.7 points. 10.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals through the first three contests of the Western Conference Semifinals.<doc-sep>
Enes Kanter details continuing to play in the Trail Blazers' Game 3 win over the Nuggets despite aggravating his separated left shoulder. (0:28) PORTLAND, Ore. -- Despite aggravating his separated left shoulder during the first overtime period of Friday's Game 3 against the Nuggets, Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter continued to play through the injury as Portland outlasted Denver 140-137 in quadruple OT, the longest NBA playoff game since 1953. "First overtime, I think I separated my shoulder more," Kanter said postgame. "I had to tuck my arm into my jersey because I couldn't carry my arm. I'm glad we got a win, man. Whatever it takes. You've got to sacrifice everything. I'm proud of my teammates." Kanter originally suffered the injury during the clinching Game 5 of Portland's first-round win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and was questionable to play heading into this series. But he logged 30-plus minutes in each of the first two games, playing a crucial role for a Blazers team that lost starting center Jusuf Nurkic in March to season-ending compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his lower left leg. The 37 minutes Kanter had logged in regulation were already a playoff high before he aggravated the injury. Afterward, Kanter said he could no longer feel his shoulder. Still, he remained in the game, eventually playing a career-high 56 minutes and recording his third double-double of the postseason (18 points, 15 rebounds). "The whole crowd was cheering," Kanter said. "Dame [Lillard] came up to me and said, 'Hey, one more overtime.' He said this three times. 'One more overtime. Come on, let's play hard.' I didn't want to quit on my teammate." In the locker room, Kanter had ice packs on both his injured left shoulder as well as his right elbow, having suffered an injury to the bursa sack in the elbow on a hard fall. Kanter also tweeted at the verified accounts of the NBA's league office and referees with a gif of Nikola Jokic slamming into Kanter's injured shoulder. Although he was able to play through pain Friday, Kanter was less certain of his status for Sunday's Game 4. His treatment between now and then will include painkillers, time in the cold tub and prayer. "Sometimes you've got to make some sacrifices to get a win," Kanter said. "I'll get some painkillers for the next game. I hope I can play. But I'll be fine."