The Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder battled in Game 3 on Friday night in a game that could be looked at as a classic or as a disaster, depending on which way you look at it. This was a classic, tight playoff game with two gritty teams trying to grind out a win. However, from a pure basketball perspective, it was pretty ugly at times.

In the end, it was the underdog Nuggets pulling out a 113-104 overtime victory to inch ahead in the series. The No. 4 seed now holds a 2-1 lead over the top-seeded Thunder, but Denver didn't get the job done how it usually does.

Usually, it's Nikola Jokic driving the bus for the Nuggets as the Denver offense hums around him. Today, however, Jokic had one of the worst playoff games of his career, and it was the role players and the Nuggets defense that lifted them over the top.

Michael Porter Jr., playing with a serious left shoulder injury, was arguably the best player on the court for Denver. He finished with 21 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting and 5-for-6 from 3-point range. Aaron Gordon also had a stellar showing, scoring 22 points to go with eight rebounds and a massive 3-pointer at the end of regulation to tie the game.

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Jamal Murray steered the offense in the right direction whenever it needed it, finishing the game with a team-high 27 points. Whenever Oklahoma City trued to isolate the Denver point guard, he held up defensively.

Even Russell Westbrook came up with big time stops on defense, and Peyton Watson knocked down a pair of massive 3s. Now, the Nuggets have a chance to take a commanding 3-1 lead in front of their home crowd on Sunday afternoon.

On the other side, the Nuggets made it very tough on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all night. The presumptive MVP finished with 18 points on just 7-for-22 shooting while adding 13 boards and seven assists. While Jalen Williams popped off for 32 points, it wasn't enough for Oklahoma City to get the victory.

All of those performances helped the Nuggets overcome a game where Jokic shot just 8-for-25 and committed eight turnovers, which is far below his usual standard. If he can get back to his MVP level along with Gilgeous-Alexander, it will be a dramatic finish to this series.