Jamal Murray scored 27 points, and the host Denver Nuggets dominated in overtime to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 113-104 in Game 3 of their Western Conference second-round playoff series.
Nikola Jokic missed all 10 of his 3-point attempts in Friday’s matchup and finished 8-for-25 from the field but ended the night with 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
Game 4 is on Sunday afternoon in Denver.
Aaron Gordon scored 22 points, including a tying bucket in the final minute of regulation, and Michael Porter Jr went 5-for-6 from deep and finished with 21 points for the Nuggets, who finished 39-for-85 from the field (45.9 percent).
“We’ve been in this situation before, we stayed poised,” Porter said about Denver’s ability to win close games. “[Aaron Gordon] hit that big 3 to send it to overtime, like he’s done all playoffs. Huge win.”
Jalen Williams scored 32 points for Oklahoma City, who were 1-for-7 from the field in overtime with two turnovers. Chet Holmgren had 18 points and 16 rebounds, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder, who were 40-for-104 (38.5 percent) from the field.
“One thing that it takes to be a great team is you get taken to the limit in the playoffs, and you’ve got to rise to the challenges that you’re confronted with,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “This team’s made a habit of doing that repeatedly. I have full confidence we’ll continue to do that, but we have to embrace what this is.”
Jokic opened overtime with a layup, and Porter drained a 3-pointer to make it 107-102. Williams missed a floater and had a turnover, which led to Murray’s layup with 3:02 left.
Holmgren’s dunk with 1:56 left was Oklahoma City’s only basket in overtime, and the Nuggets closed it out.
“I think, late in the games, you can rely on what you’ve seen and felt and done,” Nuggets head coach David Adelman said about the team’s playoff experience. “You can feel a game that maybe you played a couple of years ago.”
Gilgeous-Alexander went 7-for-22 from the field but put the Thunder ahead 93-92 with his first 3-pointer of the night with 7:33 left in the fourth.
Oklahoma City led 95-93 after Murray split a pair of free throws with 5:58 left, and both teams went cold from the field. Gilgeous-Alexander missed three straight shots, and Denver tied it on Gordon’s two free throws with 4:26 remaining.
Williams hit a layup, and Murray tied it at 97 with two free throws and put Denver ahead with a 17-footer with 2:17 left.
Luguentz Dort gave Oklahoma City back in front with a 3-pointer – his only points of the night – Murray was called for a travel with 1:31 remaining, and Williams made a pair of free throws to make it 102-99.
Gordon’s 3-pointer tied it with 27.5 seconds left, Gilgeous-Alexander missed a floater, and Jokic’s 20-footer at the buzzer was off, sending it to overtime.
Banged-up Cavs blow out Pacers in Game 3
In an earlier playoff matchup on Friday, Donovan Mitchell scored 43 points to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 126-104 victory over the Indiana Pacers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series in Indianapolis.
The top-seeded Cavaliers outscored Indiana by a 34-13 margin in the second quarter en route to cutting their deficit to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is on Sunday in Indianapolis.
Mitchell, who added nine rebounds, made 14 of 29 shots from the floor and 10 of 14 from the free throw line. The six-time All-Star drained five 3-pointers on 13 attempts after entering the contest just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc.
Cleveland’s Max Strus collected 20 points and seven rebounds, Jarrett Allen had 19 and 12, and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley added 18 and 13, respectively, in his return from a one-game absence caused by a sprained left ankle.
Darius Garland finished with just 10 points while being plagued by foul trouble. He was playing his first game since April 23, having recovered from a toe injury.
“[We were] down 2-0,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “It’s kind of now or never. You’re banged up and you’re hurting … They had to test it today. They showed a lot of fortitude. We have one day of recovery here, so it’s a quick turnaround, and they can turn it around and be ready to go.”
Cleveland held a decisive 56-37 edge in rebounds, including an 18-4 advantage on the offensive end.
Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin scored 23 points off the bench, and Pascal Siakam added 18.
Star Tyrese Haliburton was limited to just four points on 2-of-8 shooting for the fourth-seeded Pacers.
Cleveland will try to level the series when the Pacers host Game 4 on Sunday.
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