PORTLAND, Ore. — There were a lot of heroes in the Portland Trail Blazers’ epic quadruple overtime victory against the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
Rodney Hood made the 3-pointer with 18 seconds left in the fourth overtime to put the Blazers ahead 138-136, giving them the lead for good in the 140-137 win.
CJ McCollum tied a playoff career high with 41 points, hitting big shot after big shot in the fourth quarter and subsequent overtimes.
There was also the performance of Enes Kanter, who in his few months with the Blazers has become a fan favorite due to his toughness on the court and his voice off it. That toughness was on full display Friday night.
Kanter separated his left shoulder during Portland’s series-clinching Game 5 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. There were a lot of questions going into the second-round series against the Nuggets about whether Kanter would be able to play, and if he could, what kind of impact he would have.
Not only has Kanter played in each of the first three games, he’s been stellar. He’s been a reliable producer on the offensive end, averaging 19.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and he’s held his own on the defensive end, not an easy task considering he’s going up against one of the best centers in the NBA in Nikola Jokic.
But his gutty performance in Game 3 was his best so far in the series. He scored 18 points, grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds and played a grueling 56 minutes, third-most on the team behind only McCollum and Damian Lillard. He did all that while re-aggravating his shoulder injury.
In addition to the typical grind of an NBA playoff game, much less a playoff game that goes into four overtimes (only the second time ever), Kanter had to deal with an unnecessary shot to his injured shoulder.
During the game, a short clip was shared on social media showing what many believed to be excessive physical contact targeting Kanter’s injured shoulder. In the clip, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, while boxing out during a free throw attempt, delivers a blow to Kanter’s left shoulder, the same shoulder anyone paying attention to the NBA playoffs knows is injured.
Blazers fans on social media took exception to the play, some calling it dirty or a cheap shot. Some even called for the NBA to fine or suspend Jokic, Denver's best player. Blazers head coach Terry Stotts reportedly said the play "was uncalled for."
Kanter shared the clip on his Twitter account asking the NBA to look into the play.
It’s not the first time Jokic has been caught being overtly physical with Kanter in this series. At the end of Portland’s win in Game 2, Jokic shoved Kanter following a free throw. The push sent the off-balanced Kanter flying into Nuggets forward Torrey Craig, who was knocked to the ground. The play led to a brief skirmish on the court between Nuggets and Blazers players.
"It was a free throw box out, and then this dude literally just pushed me into his teammate, and then I knocked somebody down," Kanter said after the game. "Then they started getting in my face. I'm like, 'I didn't do anything, your teammate just pushed me into you.'"
Despite the pain, Kanter said he is going to do everything he can to be available for Sunday’s Game 4 at the Moda Center.
He even posted a picture on Twitter showing him lying down with his left arm tucked inside his jersey with the caption, “Whatever it freaking takes #RipCity.”
Game 3 was the best example yet of the grit and determination that has made Kanter so beloved by the Rip City faithful.
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