Rodney Hood hit a key 3-pointer with 18.6 seconds left in only the second four-overtime playoff game in N. B. A. history.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Rodney Hood checked back into the game, a fresh body among the weary ones all over the court.
Eager for postseason redemption after struggling in the N. B. A. playoffs last year, Hood got his chance Friday night.
All he had to do was wait until an N. B. A. postseason record-tying fourth overtime.
Hood hit the key 3-pointer with 18.6 seconds left and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets, 140-137, to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Hood was a starter for Cleveland last season when the playoffs opened, but fell out of favor and refused to check in to the final minutes of a blowout win over Toronto in the second round. He was acquired by the Blazers in a February trade.
“I didn’t give up,” he said. “I didn’t give up on myself, just kept playing, kept working. I had no idea that I’d end up in Portland in this type of situation. But to be here, to have my family in the crowd when I saw a lot of sad faces last go-round, to be here is very emotional for me, to be quite frank.
