Game 3 between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets was a grinder, and needed four grueling extra periods to determine which team will come out with a 2-1 edge in their best-of-7 series.

Following the 4-OT thriller, Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said that could not even recall what happened prior to the final overtime. All he remembered was Rodney Hood's clutch performance in the fourth overtime that gave Portland the 140-137 win.

Stotts inserted the fresh lefty swingman into a game full of exhausted bodies, and he delivered in the clutch. Hood drained the go-ahead triple with 18 seconds remaining, and nailed two clutch jumpers in Portland's two previous possessions.

The Blazers and Nuggets went back and forth and traded blows during the fourth quarter and the overtime periods. Both actually gave an inch at some point during the extra sessions, only for their second-round opponents to claw back and draw even.

Everybody was tired at this point. But given the magnitude of the game, both teams gutted it out with all they got. Nevertheless, as the buzzer sounded, Stotts seemed more relieved that the game was over.

In the end, Portland was the last team standing. The game ultimately turned when Nikola Jokic, who played an unreal 65 minutes last night, missed a crucial freethrow 5.6 seconds remaining that would have tied the game and could have potentially sent the game into an unprecedented 5th OT.

Nonetheless, Jokic, who finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists, cannot be faulted for Denver's heartbreaking loss. The man played more than an hour's worth of basketball minutes. But given that, he still demanded the final shot in that game-defining possession. Unfortunately, the ball just did not go his way.

Needless to say, this game was just an absolute classic. The good news for fans, but not for the players who just went to a 68-minute war last night, is that these two will go at it again on Sunday.