Michael Malone: Nuggets' 4OT Game 3 Loss vs. Trail Blazers an 'Instant Classic'
Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said Friday night's quadruple-overtime battle with the Portland Trail Blazers was an "instant classic" despite his team's 140-137 loss.
"If I was at home watching this game tonight, I would've been glued to my TV," Malone told reporters after Game 3 of the second-round playoff series in Portland. "This was a great basketball game. Wasn't pretty at all times—but the effort, the competitive spirit from both groups was outstanding."
Malone admitted afterward he probably leaned too heavily on his superstar center in an effort to pick up a crucial road win with the series tied at one game apiece.
"I mean, Nikola Jokic played 65 minutes tonight," he said. "That's unheard of. That's ridiculous. I can't do that to him; that's too many minutes."
Jokic was one of several players to post a monster stat line with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists for his third triple-double of the 2019 NBA postseason.
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 34 points, while Will Barton added 22 points and nine boards off the bench.
CJ McCollum posted a game-high 41 points to pace the Blazers to a 2-1 series lead. Four other players tallied at least 15 points for Portland, including Damian Lillard with 28.
There won't be much rest for the weary as the Blazers and Nuggets will be back in action Sunday with a 7 p.m. ET tipoff (4 p.m. PT in Portland) for Game 4 on TNT.
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