With the series tied at two games each, Damian Lillard and Nikola Jokic gave NBA fans the game of the year. In front of a friendly crowd of 10,463 at the Ball Arena in Denver, the Nuggets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 147-140 in double overtime.
No matter how much Portland was down, Lillard hit every circus shot possible to keep his team in contention. He recorded the first 50-point, 10 assist, 10 three-pointer game in NBA history. However, an epically terrible shooting performance from his Portland teammates led to a seven point loss. Lillard also set the record for the most threes made in a NBA postseason game with 12. Klay Thompson previously held the record with 11.
Clutch triple after clutch triple in Dame Time…
Damian Lillard pours in an #NBAPlayoffs record 12 threes en route to the first 55-point, 10-assist game in postseason history.
17-24 FGM | 12-17 3PM
Game 6: Thursday at 8pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/3jEroiaJUP
— NBA (@NBA) June 2, 2021
In one of the best games and the best individuals performances of the year, NBA fans and players across the country absolutely loved what they were seeing.
This a spiritual experience.
— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) June 2, 2021
Jokic with 4D court vision https://t.co/efIoBL9tH4
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 2, 2021
Damian Lillard is 🔥
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 2, 2021
CJ McCollum struggled on the night, shooting only 2-8 from three. Jusuf Nurkic fouled out at the end of regulation leaving the Blazers with a small lineup. Robert Covington did well defensively, but missed two key dunks in the overtime periods. McCollum admitted the fault of he and his teammates in the heartbreaking loss.
“It’s a shame we wasted one of the best performances you’ll ever see,” said McCollum.
For Denver, their role players matched an incredible performance from Jokic. The MVP candidate scored 38 points while recording 11 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocks. He was complimented by a clutch shooting performance from Austin Rivers. After not being active on an NBA roster earlier in the season, Rivers hit multiple clutch threes for Denver on Tuesday night.
AUSTIN.
RIVERS.
CASH. pic.twitter.com/3s1B5cMWfd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 2, 2021
No Help for Dame
Lillard scored 17 of the Blazers 19 points in the overtime periods. Even with his teammates missing shots, Portland was within three points with 1:33 left in 2OT. Then, Covington missed a dunk with 41 seconds left followed by McCollum losing track of the court and stepping out of bounds with 9.1 seconds remaining.
The Nuggets’ Monte Morris had 28 points off the bench and sealed the game with two free throws. Morris and Rivers provided clutch guard play for a Denver team missing Jamal Murray. Although Michael Porter was crossed over by Lillard multiple times in overtime, his 26-point double-double gave the Nuggets some key wing scoring throughout the close contest.
Overall, the lack of depth off the bench killed Portland. Only six players registered 20 or more minutes for the Blazers. The Nuggets, however, had eight with 20 or more minutes and their star scorers supported Jokic.
Even after his incredible offensive evening, Lillard remained focused on the last two games of the seven game series.
“It’s do or die now. All that matters is that we can’t lose another game in the rest of this series,” he said after the game.
Denver will travel to Portland for Game 6 of the series. Facing elimination, McCollum, Carmelo Anthony and Norman Powell will all need to step up their offensive games. Denver will continue to run their offense through Jokic and hope Lillard cools down from this scorched-earth performance.
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Main Image Credit:
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