2021 NBA Playoff Hangover (Day 11): Nuggets Take 3-2 Lead After Going Through Dame Time

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Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily. Hey! We’re in the playoffs now!

Dame Time in Denver was unbelievable, even in a loss.

(PHOTO CREDIT: AAron Ontiveroz/Denver Post.)

I don’t think any words can do this justice.

The Denver Nuggets should get credit, man. They survived yet another marathon against the Portland TrailBlazers in a playoff game (remember Game 3 of their 2019 West Semis series when they went FOUR overtimes). They went two extra frames as, this time around, it was Denver who came out on top in another battle of attrition.

Everyone is going to talk about what Damian Lillard did. Lillard did all he could. First, he made that ridiculous three with 3.7 seconds left that sent the game to a first overtime.

We thought that it was the game when Austin Rivers (who has his own share of playoff heroics) made a three to put Denver up nine with two minutes and change.

But Dame Time apparently never stops. He made an unbelievable 30-footer to cut the deficit to five. Then another one to cut it to two!

Monte Morris split his foul shots. Blazers down three. What does Portland do? They knew what time it was.

And oh, my goodness…

What else can you say?

In the second overtime, Lillard was so hot that they had to open the bank for him:

Ridiculous. When Lillard finally did miss, Austin just had to say thanks to the Man upstairs:

In the end, Denver survived all of that. Michael Porter, Jr. made this three and the Nuggets never relinquished the lead again.

What a crazy crazy game. Dame would break the record for most threes in a playoff game with 12. He finished with 55 points, 6 rebounds, and 10 assists. It’ll go down as an all-time game.

But the Nuggets get the win with fantastic performances by multiple players. Leading MVP candidate Nikola Jokic had 38-11-9 as well as four blocks. Monte Morris came off the bench to score 28 points. Michael Porter, Jr. had 26 points and 12 boards. Austin Rivers made key shots and scored 18.

This was the game that Portland needed. But ya know, they’re once again in the same situation that they were in two seasons ago. The Nuggets were also up, 3-2, in the West semis against Portland. Then Rip City ripped away Games 6 and 7. I didn’t mention CJ McCollum because he didn’t have the greatest game (18-7-7 but 7 for 22). BUT he was the one that made the clutch midranger in Game 7 against the Nuggets in ’19. So look for him to bounce back somehow.

Anyway, this was the most memorable game of the postseason thus far. We got a virtuoso performance from Dame. We saw Denver’s resiliency once again. And it was in a pivotal Game 5 that will break a team in this series.

How about an encore for Game 6, guys?

Bullet Passes

I can’t say much about the other two series that went on Tuesday night. Boston was just overmatched against Brooklyn. James Harden finished with 34-10-10. Kyrie Irving had 25 points. Kevin Durant scored 24. Jayson Tatum went for 32-9-5 but that’s not nearly enough without Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics’ season ended with a whimper; a disappointing campaign after going to the East Finals last season. It’s really weird because this is essentially the same team from last season. The pandemic surely affected them but even when they were in full strength, they weren’t playing that well.

And this was what we expected out of Brooklyn. Everyone is healthy now. They SHOULD be the favorites to go to the Finals simply because of their talent.

But the next series is NOT going to be easy. Milwaukee is looking to right the wrongs of the last two seasons and triumph over evil. I don’t even know what I was going for other than… well…

And the Lakers barely put up a fight against the Suns. No Anthony Davis. No Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Dennis Schröder is clearly not 100 percent. The Suns just blew them out of the water.

The only thing that is really scaring the Suns is that Chris Paul reinjured his shoulder. He seemed okay later in the night but they’ll need him to be there to make sure they really do put away the Lakers.

We don’t know if Davis will be back for Game 6. But I expect L.A. to put on a much better fight with everything on the line.

You know what really bothers me about NBA Twitter? I don’t really think it’s NBA Twitter as much as it is NBA Transaction Twitter. People are SO obsessed with putting stars in big markets. After the Blazers lost, it felt like everyone wanted to put Lillard in L.A. or New York. It’s so stupid.

I really wish the NBA could fix that problem. The NFL always has the edge on this because they don’t have this “market” problem. Pittsburgh is a model franchise. Dallas is a big market but it’s not a glamour market like L.A. Look at Green Bay. Who won the Super Bowl? Tampa.

Markets like Portland and Memphis need more respect.

NBA Playoff Scoreboard

June 1, 2021

NBA Playoff Series Count

EAST

#1 Sixers lead #8 Wizards, 3-1.
#5 Hawks lead #4 Knicks, 3-1.
#2 Nets defeat #7 Celtics, 4-1.
#3 Bucks defeat #6 Heat, 4-0.

WEST

#1 Jazz lead #8 Grizzlies, 3-1.
#4 Clippers tied with #5 Mavericks, 2-2.
#2 Suns lead #7 Lakers, 3-2.
#3 Nuggets lead #6 Blazers, 3-2.

Watch This Play

Lillard sent the Blazers to overtime twice. The first one was fantastic because there was less time but this was more difficult. I mean, look what he did before the shot!

He practically spun into a three. And as I said before: somehow, that STILL wasn’t enough.

Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.

You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.

You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.

R.I.P. Nala.

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