TEAM • Portland and Denver played the second quadruple-overtime game in NBA Playoffs history. The Boston Celtics defeated the Syracuse Nationals, 111-105, in quadruple-overtime on March 21, 1953. • The Trail Blazers improved to 2-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Nuggets. It is the first series lead Portland has had in the Western Conference Semifinals since 2000. Portland won that series over Utah, 4-1. • The Trail Blazers improved to 4-0 at home during the 2019 Playoffs. The Trail Blazers have won 12 straight games at Moda Center dating back to March 9. • Portland’s 140 points mark the second-most points the team has scored in a playoff game in franchise history [153, 5/11/92 at Pho (2ot)]. • Both teams recorded 24 offensive rebounds. Portland scored 25 second chance points while the Nuggets had 19 second chance points. • Portland scored 29 points off of 21 Denver turnovers while the Nuggets scored 17 points off of 14 Trail Blazers turnovers. • The Trail Blazers shot 24-of-28 from the free-throw-line (85.7%) while the Nuggets shot 14-of-20 from the stripe.
PLAYER • CJ McCollum scored a game-high 41 points (16-39 FG, 4-11 3-PT, 5-6 FT) to go with eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block. McCollum scored 28 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime periods. His 41 points matched the highest-scoring postseason game of his career (41, 4/16/17 at GSW). McCollum played 60 minutes, setting a franchise record for minutes played in a postseason game. • Damian Lillard nished with 28 points (10-24 FG, 2-9 3-PT, 6-6 FT), six rebounds, eight assists and two steals in 58 minutes. He has scored at least 28 points in six of the eight games this postseason. • Enes Kanter had a double-double of 18 points (8-16 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 1-1 FT) and 15 rebounds to go with three steals and one block. It was his first double-double of the series and his third of the postseason. • Rodney Hood scored a postseason career-high 19 points (6-8 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 5-7 FT) to go with two rebounds and one assist in 24 minutes off the bench. He scored seven of his points in the final 1:45 of the fourth overtime. He has reached double figure scoring in three straight playoff games for the first time in his career. • Maurice Harkless recorded 15 points (6-14 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 2-3 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks in 45 minutes. It was his second double-double of the postseason. • Zach Collins recorded eight points (3-7 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 1-1 FT) and a postseason career-high eight rebounds to go with two assists, one steal and one block in 18 minutes off the bench. • Al-Farouq Aminu logged six points, 12 rebounds, four assists and one steal in 46 minutes. • Nikola Jokic recorded 33 points (13-25 FG, 4-7 3-PT, 3-5 FT), 18 rebounds, 14 assists, one steal and two blocks in 65 minutes. Only three players in NBA history have played more minutes in a postseason game. • Jamal Murray scored a postseason career-high 34 points (14-32 FG, 4-12 3-PT, 2-2 FT) to go with nine rebounds, ve assists and one steal in 55 minutes.
HEAD COACH TERRY STOTTS “I have no idea what happened in the first half or the second half or the first three overtimes. Rodney Hood came in and played great. It was a hell of a game. I’ve never been involved in a game like that, regular season or playoffs, but it was an amazing effort by both teams.” On the substitution to go to Hood late? “I’d like to take credit for that but actually Moe was cramping up a little bit, so that was the reason for the substitution, but we did go to [Hood] a couple times. Obviously the three point shot was a scramble situation. CJ had a great play, but we did go to [Hood] because we liked the matchup a couple times and he had fresh legs.” On thought process to stay with guys who are in and tired or put a guy in who hasn’t played – how tough is that decision? “It’s a tough call. I think most coaches kind of go with the guys who are involved in the game, guys who have gotten you to that point. Guys that have been sitting on the bench for a while, maybe a little cold – it’s just like a heavyweight bout where it’s a battle of attrition. It’s a good question but I do think most coaches kind of leave those guys in there because they’re in the flow of the game and they got you to that point.” On Lillard only having 2 turnovers with 8 assists – what did you like about his game tonight? “He didn’t necessarily shoot the ball well but two big plays – two big layups, it wasn’t looking good there for a while and he gets to the rim twice. That was huge. Fighting through fatigue because we ask so much of him at both ends. The thing about Dame is you can look at the box score but his demeanor and the way he leads the team whether he’s shooting the ball well or not is really important for us.” On emotional release to get a win like this after four overtimes: “I don’t know. I think everybody is pretty tired mentally and physically. You just don’t know – the game was won and lost so many times by both teams. It was a roller coaster. Every overtime, it was a roller coaster. I don’t know if it’s elation as it was relief, but I’ll take it. I’ll take either one.” Can you describe Kanter and what he’s giving you with his shoulder injury? “My hat’s off to Enes. He’s a warrior. He goes out there and I don’t know how much pain he’s in, it looks like it’s that it’s a painful situation for him. I’ve asked him I don’t know how many times how he’s doing. ‘I’m okay coach, I’m okay.’ He just battles. He’s given us so much at the regular season, obviously in the playoffs – we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in without him. He’s remarkable.” On CJ McCollum’s game: “He made some big shots. I forget which overtime it was, but he hit a two and he hit a three, big, tough shots to make because of the strength it takes to make those shots. He made some really clutch shots and I thought he was actually, had quite a bit more of a game going but they, Will Barton did a nice job on whoever he was guarding, but for CJ, even though I don’t know what he actually shot, but for me, it was more about the timeliness of the shots.” What did you think of your defensive effort? “I thought it was good. When you look at every overtime, there wasn’t a lot of scoring in overtime. I thought it was a very physical game. Neither team backed down. Everybody was locked in. We’re getting to the point in the series after three games where everybody kind of knows what the other team does, everybody kind of gets locked in so it’s kind of hard to score. When you look at the shooting percentages – it was just a hard-fought game and there was certainly a lot of defense. Denver did a hell of a job on the offensive boards, just like game two in the fourth quarter, they really pounded the glass and that kept them in the game. I don’t know how many in the fourth quarter and overtimes – they’re a very good offensive rebounding team but fatigue maybe came into that for us.” It’s only one win and one game, but does it feel like more than one? “It’s one and a half since we played a game and a half. So let’s get 1.5, but we still have to get to 4.” How much does can that momentum mean going into the next game? “I don’t know about momentum. I mean, we’ll see. It’s a quick turnaround for a Sunday 4:00 game. It’ll be interesting how both teams come out going into game four.”
DAMIAN LILLARD Can you describe the feeling when the game was over and you had won? I was just happy. A game like that – a hard-fought game, four overtimes. Each overtime it seemed like one team had the edge and was going to close it out and allowed the other team to have life and get back into it. Then we did the same thing that they did. We was coming to the bench saying it’s two teams fighting for their season. Nobody said it was going to be pretty. Nobody said it was going to be easy. The team that was willing to go a little bit deeper is going to win the game. I thought we did that down the stretch.” What is it like to watch McCollum have a game like he did? “I always enjoy when CJ gets rolling because it’s not just the fact that he’s doing it for our team, it’s just the way it looks. Guys like him and Kyrie Irving, they have games that just look good – smooth, crossovers, crafty, tough shots – so to just watch it was great as a teammate and as a friend. The time that it came – it was big shot after big shot after big shot. For me, my job is to allow that. When he’s rolling, let him keep rolling. I know he’ll come to me when he’s tired and say, okay you take the ball this time or whatever, but he came through big time for our team tonight, especially in such a long, tough, hard-fought game.” What does it mean to you and your team to have players like Kanter and Harkless play through injuries and big minutes? “I mean, it doesn’t surprise me. We all depend on each other. We lean on each other. Those guys know how important they are to our team, so the fact that they’re out there playing through injuries, I think it just shows how tough they are for one, and it also shows how bad they want it, how much they’re invested into our team, how much they care. They’re willing to go out there not 100 percent, banged up, and still fight with the team. They know how much we need them. Not only are they playing through, but they’re out there giving us productive minutes and super impactful minutes. Enes, what he’s done out there since Nurk went down has been great, changed our season. We don’t have anybody else on our team capable of the things that Moe is capable of. He’d be out there basically on one leg, coming up with those big rebounds, in the paint getting us extra possessions, finishing around the rim, deflections, chasing small guards around, playing through screens. For him to be doing that and knowing that he’s doing it through an injury, I think it just shows his commitment to the team and how bad he wants it. Same with Enes.” Could you describe how big it was to watch Hood hit big shots late? “It was huge. Looking back at the first round, I don’t think he had the kind of series that he wanted to have, but in that series we had different guys come in and come up big for the team. I think in this series, every game he’s come in and given us a huge lift. I thought tonight it was fitting that he was able to come through big for us and it was at a big time in the game. At one point we were down two, coach called a play for him and he scored it and the next time, I was like, ‘same play’ and he looked at me like ‘what are we doing?’ and I was like, ‘same thing, let’s keep it rolling.’ And he hit another one. I think what he did for our team tonight was huge. Same thing in game two, but I think us trusting him and continuing to play through him in big moments, it made him feel that much better about the three pointer he shot. He rose up with confidence and hit a big shot, so it’s been great to see him coming up for the team, especially tonight.” With the starters logging so many minutes, how big is the bench going to be in game four? “I mean, it’s always huge for your bench to be able to come in and produce in the playoffs. In our past two wins against Denver, it’s been our bench that’s come up big for us. But as far as the minutes, everybody is tired. We’re built for what’s happening right now. That’s what we had to do to win the game, now we have to go do our jobs away from the floor to make sure that at 4:00 Sunday we’re ready.” How tired were you at the end of that? “I was really tired. You start to cramp up a little bit, get a little bit tired, but we knew that they were going through the same thing, so it wasn’t like we were just out there having a long practice. It was a game, there was another team out there going through the same thing that we were. So like I said earlier, it was just a matter of who’s going to fight through and get that one extra rebound, that one extra stop, that one loose ball, make that free throw. Who’s going to be the team to do those things in those last two, three minutes of the overtime? Tonight, we were that team.” Do you see the difference in a guy like Hood who comes in with fresh legs? “I mean, I think you could look at it that way but it’s also tough for a guy who hadn’t been in the game to come in when everybody else has been running around and they’re fighting. Everybody was tired but it wasn’t like nobody was giving an inch. They’re a team that’s there for physical contact and coverages – everything was there, both teams was competing hard and on top of that stuff. [Hood] came into the game off the bench stiff and came up big right on the spot for us, so I think that made it even more impressive.” Is there a point in the game where you think to yourself, what’s going to happen if we lose this game? “For sure. I think that’s what even though I wasn’t making shots in spots, I was like I’m going to be aggressive. I’m going to attack the rim. I just remember, I think it was maybe the third overtime, we was down 4 with 30 seconds left and I was just like, I know it’s not a lot of time, we’re probably going to having to foul, something is going to have to work out because I started thinking about how I would feel when I got home tonight. I was just like we just can’t have this right now. I’m sure everybody was thinking that same way, about how they would feel if they went home tonight and knew that we left this game out there and didn’t take care of business. We got it done.”
MAURICE HARKLESS On when he (Harkless) knew he was going to play tonight. “I knew all along, this is the playoffs. I’d go out there with one ankle if I had to. I mean it was just as long as I was able to run up and down the court I was going to play.” On if he saw himself (Harkless) playing 45 minutes tonight. “No, not at all. I just told coach and our training staff that I didn’t want to go out there with any intention and just give it everything I got. On when Coach Stotts went with Hood during cramps and how bad he (Harkless) wanted to get back out there. “I started to cramp up a little bit so I just felt like I needed to stretch to try to keep playing. It was starting to get bad so I asked for a sub. We went up, we needed a stop I tried to go back to the table and tell coach to put me back in the game because I like to be on the court in situations like that. Rodney came in and he closed the game out for us, so he was huge. It kind of worked out, it helped our team. If I had to fake injury to get out the game so he (Hood) could get in, it works out.” On coming back on Sunday so early and making sure to win tonight and not lose this. “Yeah, especially in a game like this. In the way you have to gut it out. Both teams really left everything on the floor. To lose that game I felt it would have been an emotional blow. Especially having to come back early Sunday to play. We took care of business, we just got to focus on resting and being ready for Sunday. On how satisfying it was to play for as long as he did and as well as he did. “It was very satisfying. I live for moments like this. This is what I work for. This is what I work for all summer. This is what I work my whole life to get to this point. To be out there and to be able to play. Like I said with one ankle or two, leave everything all on the floor. Coach trusted me tonight to be out there and he kept asking me if I was okay. I kept saying “yeah”. He kept rolling with me and it worked out in the end.” On keeping the energy high in the huddle after one, two, three overtimes when fatigue is a huge factor. “We just lean on each other. When things get tough we just lean on each other even more. I remember being in the third overtime, Dame pulled us in right before we were about to shoot free throws and he was like “look we right here with each other, keep staying together, keep trusting it, stay focused for these last eleven however many minutes- and five after that.” Stick together and find that energy from each other.” On it just being one game and momentum into game four. “I think it can definitely give us a little boost going into game four. Coming off a win like this, because you can also think about how they (Nuggets) feel after a game like this. I’m sure it was a tough loss for them. I’m sure they’re going to come out Sunday and be ready to play. We got to use this kind of game as a stepping stone and build on it. We showed a lot of character tonight as a team. We just got to build on that moving forward.” On the emotion after the game was finally done. “I mean, it’s satisfying. We put ourselves in a good position tonight. We fought hard the whole game. We ended up with the result that we wanted. That’s the most satisfying feeling in sports. Obviously it’s just one game but tonight was a big one. We needed this game and they made us fight for it. The fact that we were able to figure out a way to do it, that makes it even more sweet.” On what stands out on the box score. “65 minutes; That’s crazy. A lot of guys played a lot of minutes tonight. They got a lot of offensive rebounds. So did we, it’s a lot to process honestly.”
RODNEY HOOD On dealing with the stress of playing four overtime periods: “I just felt pretty good, you know I was telling Gary Trent that if I got a chance, I was going to make it. They bring me in to be a fresh hand, and I can make a difference, so I was excited to go back in in the fourth overtime.” On hitting the go-ahead shot in the fourth overtime: “It’s up there. It’s one of the biggest moments, and obviously it’s the playoffs—I’ve hit game-winners and big shots before, but this one means a lot, especially going back into the game after being out for a while…” On taking some of the biggest shots in the game: “We were kind of struggling to get some baskets in the fourth overtime, and like I said I had fresh legs, and me in the post, I can really matchup against anybody…I got my first bucket to go down, and coach kept going to me, and then C.J. [McCollum] is a hell of a player getting rebounds, so I think that’s a big thing that we talk about, is just trusting each other…” On what it means to redeem himself in this year’s playoffs after last year: “It means a lot—I stayed patient, I didn’t get down on myself even when a lot of people did…trusting God, I just didn’t give up, didn’t give up on myself, I just kept playing, kept working…I had no idea I’d end up in Portland in this type of situation, but to be here and to have my family in the crowd, I saw the sad faces the last go-around, so to be here is very emotional for me, to be quite frank. A lot more basketball to get through right now.”
HEAD COACH MICHAEL MALONE On his team’s emotions during the four overtime periods: “We had some highs and lows. When you play a four-overtime game, you come up just short, and then you’re disappointed. That game was an instant classic, and I couldn’t have been prouder of our guys for their fight, playing with it…Nikola Jokic played 65 minutes tonight—that’s unheard of, that’s ridiculous. I can’t do that to him, that’s too many minutes. We fought, we fought, we fought, that’s all you can ask for. Too many second chance points, too many turnovers…that was the difference in the game, but it was a hell of a basketball game for two very good basketball teams.” On Nikola Jokic overcoming his exhaustion in the overtime periods: “There was one timeout—not sure when it was—I said ‘listen, we’ve got to get the big fella going, we’ve got to start getting him the ball, I don’t care if they’re double-teaming him or not, let’s get him the ball, let him get plays, let him be aggressive and score.’ And he was able to do so. We had our chances, we played great defense once again. We had a hell of a defensive effort, but big kickout three to Rodney Hood. Rodney Hood had a huge impact in the game; they went to him, he went right at Jamal Murray a few times, I think two times in a row. Play good defense, they kick it out and he hits the three-point shot…but Nikola [Jokic], even going into the third or fourth overtime, I just said, ‘you’re not tired, you’re not tired,’ and he was phenomenal. He had a part in a game like this, four overtimes that really both teams deserve to win. You feel bad there’s a loser, but that’s the way it goes. We came out just short, we’ll have to learn from it, and we have a quick turnaround to play Sunday afternoon, so we’ll try to get as much rest as we can.” On resting his players before Game 4 on Sunday: “They have the same turnaround. Those guys played a lot of minutes as well, I mean [Enes] Kanter played 56, [C.J.] McCollum played 60—we’re talking about a playoff game and guys are playing 60 minutes. That’s crazy. So yeah, you give them rest. You let them sleep in, you get them treatment, rehab, recovery…you try to learn from the loss and get ready to battle. Both teams are exhausted, so it’s the same for them as it is for us. We will not use that as an excuse—we haven’t used it all year long and we won’t start using it now.” On gaining and losing the lead repeatedly in the overtime periods: “There were a couple of moments in the game where I thought we had the game, and obviously it gets turned over on the sidelines—Jamal [Murray] with C.J. McCollum knocking the ball away. We got a couple of stops, we got kicked out threes, but the real problem was almost like, ‘when is this game going to end?’ It kept on going and going and going, and I think it speaks to their group, our group, competitors, fighters leaving it all out on the floor. If I was at home watching this game tonight, I would be glued to my T.V.—this was a great basketball game, wasn’t pretty at all times, but the effort, the competitiveness from both groups was outstanding, so hats off to Portland, great win for them, and now we have to try to get one on Sunday afternoon.”
NIKOLA JOKIC On playing 65 minutes and four overtimes “In that moment, at that time, you’re not thinking about how many minutes you’re playing. You’re trying to win the game. After the game, of course, I think [we played a lot of minutes]. But I’m not going to go out [of the game] during overtime. We were fighting and we were close. We had a couple turnovers, they [the Blazers] had a couple big shots.” On picking each other up after a tough loss “The team, and the whole group of guys, we are carrying each other… The team is fighting together. We are doing everything together. Everyone is cheering for each other.” On what Coach Michael Malone said to him in the third quarter “He said, ‘We’ve got to get you going.’ I felt that I had to be aggressive to get everybody working again.” On fighting fatigue “In that moment, you don’t think that you are tired or how much you have played. You just want to give everything you’ve got in that moment. You don’t think about the exhaustion or how tired you are.”
