NBA Playoffs 2019: Latest Conference Semifinal Scores and Bracket Picks

The Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets played a game Friday night that will live on in NBA annals for many years. It took four overtime periods for the Trail Blazers to emerge with a 140-137 victory over the Nuggets in just the second NBA postseason game to play as many overtime periods.

Rodney Hood came off the bench to score seven consecutive points in the fourth overtime, including the three-pointer that proved decisive. C.J. McCollum, who played 60 minutes and scored 41 points, intercepted the final pass and heaved the ball high into the air to clinch the victory for the Blazers, who lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.

Game 3 will be played in the Rose City at 7 p.m. ET Sunday.

In addition to McCollum's contribution, Damian Lillard scored 28 points and added eight assists. Their combined effort helped Portland overcome Denver center Nikola Jokic's 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists while playing a remarkable 64 minutes.

Denver head coach Michael Malone felt the game was an instant classic. 

"It was almost like, when is this game going to end?" Malone said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com. "It just kept on going and going and going.

"If I was at home watching this game tonight, I would've been glued to my TV," Malone added. "This was a great basketball game. Wasn't pretty at all times—but the effort, the competitive spirit from both groups, was outstanding."

Denver's Will Barton tied the score at the end of the fourth quarter at 102-102 on a layup off a pass from Jokic, and McCollum pushed the game to a second overtime when he hit a teardrop from seven feet.

The second overtime period saw both teams fail to score in the final minute, but the Nuggets had the Blazers on the ropes in the third extra period when they built a 129-125 lead with 32.2 seconds to go. Lillard, however, hit back-to-back layups to tie the score.

"I have no idea what happened in the first half or the second half or the first three overtimes," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "And Rodney Hood came in and played great. It was a helluva game. I've never been involved in a game like that—regular season or playoff. But it was an amazing effort by both teams."

While the Blazers and Nuggets played their lengthy classic, the Milwaukee Bucks gained a 2-1 series edge over the Boston Celtics with a 123-116 road victory in Game 3. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo led his team with 32 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Antetokounmpo took the ball to the rim throughout the game, and the Celtics had no answers. While the Bucks and their star were scoring inside, the Celtics went 16-of-40 from three-point range and shot 43.2 percent overall.

Boston won the series opener in Milwaukee by 22 points, but Milwaukee has bounced back with consecutive victories.

Antetokounmpo had help from George Hill and Khris Middleton, who added 41 points between them. The Bucks took charge of the game by outscoring the Celtics 40-31 in the third quarter, and Boston did not have enough of an answer in the fourth quarter to make inroads on the lead.

Kyrie Irving had 29 points to lead the Celtics, but he made just eight of 22 shots for a 36.4 shooting percentage. Jayson Tatum added 20 points for Boston, making seven of 14 shots from the field.

The two teams will meet Monday in Game 4 at 7 p.m. ET in Boston.

Saturday's NBA postseason game

After dropping two games in Oakland, the second-round series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets has already reached a critical stage for Houston.

The two-game hole will almost certainly be too deep to climb out of if they drop a third consecutive game as their series moves to Houston.

James Harden will play in Game 3 after getting hit in the face by Draymond Green early in Game 2. Harden suffered contusions to both eyes and a cut inside his left eyelid, but he still managed to score 29 points.

The biggest issues for the Rockets in Oakland were their 31 turnovers and a minus-16 rebound differential across both games, which allowed the Warriors to take 15 more field-goal attempts than the Rockets.

"We know that they're champions, but we're losing the game because—it's real simple—they're taking more shots at the basket than we are," Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni said, per Field Level Media (h/t ESPN.com). "We're actually shooting a little bit better but they're taking more shots, and they're doing it because we have too many turnovers and we're not rebounding the basketball. And we've got to cure those two problems."

Bracket selections

Saturday's game

Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC, Golden State leads series, 2-0

Rockets over Warriors, cutting Golden State's lead to 2-1

Eastern Conference series predictions

Milwaukee defeats Boston, 4-3

Philadelphia defeats Toronto, 4-2

Western Conference series predictions

Golden State defeats Houston, 4-3

Portland defeats Denver, 4-2