----- Nikola Jokic scored 38 points and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 26 as the Denver Nuggets spoil Damian Lillard's 55-point effort with a 147-140 double-overtime victory Tuesday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado to take a 3-2 lead in their first round Western Conference playoff series.
Lillard-Time spoiled in Denver!
Nikola Jokic finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists and Michael Porter Jr. finished with 26 points as the Denver Nuggets overcome a heroic effort from Damian Lillard to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference playoff series with a 147-140 double-overtime victory Tuesday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Lillard played arguably the best game of his career in the loss. He finished with 55 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds. He connected on 17 of his 24 shots and set an NBA playoff-record making 12-of-17 from three-point range. The 55-points is the most scored in a playoff game in Trail Blazers franchise-history.
''It was the best playoff performance I've ever seen,' Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. ''He gave it his all. He made a lot of shots. Look, he gave it his all.
''We're all disappointed. I have empathy for Dame. I have empathy for anybody on our team. But now's not the time for empathy. Now's the time to regroup and come back and get Game 6. We can't feel sorry for ourselves.''
The problem is, Lillard couldn't find help from his teammates late in the game.
Lillard scored 17 of Portland's 19 points in the two overtimes, but he didn't score again after his 12th 3-pointer in 17 attempts put the Blazers ahead 140-138 with 3:47 left.
Jusuf Nurkic fouled out with 4:00 minutes remaining in the game. It was the third game in the series when Nurkic has fouled out in the fourth quarter.
A couple of critical mistakes proved costly for Portland in the second overtime. First, Robert Covington missed a dunk with 41 seconds left and then CJ McCollum stepped out of bounds with 10.2 after receiving a pass from Lillard trailing 143-140.
Up Next- Game six between the Nuggets and Trail Blazers will be Thursday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM.
Chad's Take- In two overtime periods- Lillard 6-of-8 for 17 points, rest of the team- 1-of-14 for two points. Might want to get Lillard some help.