DENVER — Game 2 is a thing of the past.
After a blowout of historic proportions by the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets regained their composure and their form on Friday for a 113-104 overtime thriller in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Advertisement
Denver rallied from a 56-51 halftime deficit and had a shot a winning in regulation with a Nikola Jokić turnaround jumper that clanged off the rim as time expired in the fourth quarter.
But Jokić responded with a layup to open overtime that sparked a 7-0 Nuggets run and sent Ball Arena into a frenzy. Michael Porter Jr. followed Jokić’s bucket up 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 like world beaters in Game 2 was done. Its MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander struggled down the stretch as the Nuggets seized control. And the NBA’s best team from the regular season didn’t find an answer in overtime.
The Nuggets maintain the home-court advantage that they stole from the Thunder with a come-from-behind stunner in Game 1.
Advertisement
The win for the Nuggets arrives of the heels of Wednesday’s 149-106 loss to Oklahoma City that saw the Thunder set a playoff record with 8 first-half points. But margins of victory don’t matter in the grand scheme.
Denver’s one-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.
“It’s just a loss,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said before Friday’s game of 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.”
Michael Porter Jr. shows up
Hampered by a lingering shoulder injury while struggling on the road, Michael Porter Jr. managed 10 total points in Games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City. Back home in Denver he returned as an impact player while tallying 21 points and eight rebounds and shooting 5-of-6 from 3.
Advertisement
Porter’s playoffs so far have been a case of feast or famine, and he’s frequently found himself on head coach David Adelman’s bench in pressure situations when he’s struggle. But that wasn’t the case Friday night. Porter led the Nuggets at halftime with 15 points paced by hot shooting from long distance.
He was then trusted in crunch time on Friday with his overtime 3-pointer that helped sink the Thunder.
His scoring output helped the Nuggets keep things close with a 56-51 halftime deficit in half in which Nikola Jokić struggled with eight points on a 2-of-9 shooting effort. In the end Porter’s output was part of a balanced scoring effort that saw four Nuggets starters score 20-plus points.
Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday in Denver.
Read the full article here
