Eintracht Frankfurt sporting director Fredi Bobic has told ESPN FC there has been "no contact" with Real Madrid over the transfer of Luka Jovic.

Reports in Spain from AS had claimed that the two clubs had agreed a €60 million fee to take the Serbia international to the Bernabeu when the transfer window opens in the summer.

It would mark a huge profit for the Bundesliga side, who only last month exercised their option to sign the player permanently from Benfica for around €7m following a two-year loan.

Jovic, 21, has scored 26 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions for Frankfurt this season and has been on Madrid's radar for some time. But reports that negotiations are at an advanced stage have been rubbished by Bobic.

"There has been no contact with Real Madrid," Bobic told ESPN FC. "For once, I don't have to use a white lie, they really haven't been in touch yet. I know them very well."

Madrid representatives may already have been in contract with Jovic's agents, but there is no deal on the table until Madrid make their first moves to negotiate a fee.

Benfica will be due 20 percent of any transfer fee, and Frankfurt may look for more than the reported €60m to take full advantage of Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane looks to completely reshape his squad.

Jovic scored Frankfurt's goal as they drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the first leg of the Europa League semifinal on Thursday, while his club are in pole position to secure a first-ever Champions League campaign as they sit fourth in the Bundesliga.

England and India are firm favourites going into the 2019 World Cup, according to Yuvraj Singh, Player of the Series in the 2011 edition of the tournament.

Speaking at a promotional event on Saturday, Yuvraj also included Australia among his favourites.

"My first two teams are England and India," Yuvraj said. "Obviously with [David] Warner and [Steven] Smith coming back [from their ball-tampering bans], Australia will be in contention. West Indies also looked a very power-packed side. You can't say much at this stage. I think it would be India and England first, third would be Australia. Fourth I don't know. I will tell you later…"

Yuvraj, who last played an ODI in June 2017, said Hardik Pandya could make a big impact for India, given the form he carries into the World Cup from the IPL.

"I was actually having this conversation with him yesterday where I told him that "you have a great chance of performing really well with the ball and bat," the kind of form he is in at the moment.

"Definitely, the way he is batting at the moment, it is phenomenal and I hope he carries that form (into the World Cup). He has been bowling well in patches but as I said it is all about how you handle the pressure... I just hope that Hardik has an awesome tournament, the way he is batting at the moment."

Among the positive signs Yuvraj sees in Pandya's batting is his big hitting against quality bowlers.

"He got 91 from 34 balls against KKR, probably that is the best innings I have seen in the IPL just because he hit four quality bowlers he was batting against," Yuvraj said. "When you are doing that, you know that someone is batting very well."

Yuvraj is enthused by the form of India's batsmen, but he cautioned that T20 form cannot be a guarantee of ODI form.

"See you can't really compare T20 form with 50-overs. In T20 you don't have the time and you have to start going and hitting fours and sixes and it's a different ball game," Yuvraj said. "In 50 overs you have a lot of time (to get) set and start going, you can't really assess 20-overs form for 50 overs.

"MS [Dhoni] is in good form, Rohit [Sharma] is hitting ball well so is Virat [Kohli], Shikhar [Dhawan]. If you look at 90 per cent of the guys they are in good form.

"At No 6, Kedar [Jadhav], you get less opportunity to show your form so I'm pretty happy with the way all the guys are playing."

The 2019 World Cup begins on May 30 with England facing South Africa at The Oval. India's campaign begins against South Africa on July 5.

The South African Cricketers Association (SACA) has threatened legal action against Cricket South Africa (CSA) over alleged breaches of agreement related to CSA's decision to radically restructure domestic cricket.

From 2021, CSA is planning to scrap the franchise system, reverting to the provincial model in domestic cricket as part of austerity measures designed to offset projected losses of R 654 million (USD 45 million approx) over the next four years. But SACA has repeatedly expressed concerns over the plan, insisting that it had not been properly consulted or given the relevant financial information regarding the challenges CSA is facing.

SACA, through its lawyers, addressed a letter to CSA on Friday detailing its grievances, with SACA saying its concerns over the restructuring exercise "have simply been ignored by CSA".

ALSO READ: Explainer on CSA's austerity measures

"We reiterate our concerns around the financial position and around a decision, which has significant consequences both for the game and the players, taken without regard to our agreements and without following the consultation process specifically provided for in our Recognition Agreement," SACA president Omphile Ramela said.

"SACA cares about the financial sustainability of the game, and this is not only about what happens next year but also about the years to come. Our concerns relating to this have simply been ignored by CSA.

"We also care about ensuring the best possible domestic structure for the players and the game and believe that this should be the subject of proper consultation and agreement instead of there being a decision, which will have significant consequences, forced on us and the players."

SACA's statement marks the latest episode in a spat that has rumbled on since CSA announced the restructuring plan in early April.

The relationship between the two organisations hit a new low when SACA claimed that its chief executive Tony Irish had been barred from attending a meeting at which the changes to domestic cricket were discussed. While SACA's latest move has made clear its willingness to take legal action against CSA, Irish said the organisation is still open to engaging CSA on the relevant issues.

"Our lawyers have made it clear to CSA that its failure to comply with our agreements may well lead to legal action," Irish said. "At the same time, we are open to finding responsible solutions to the financial challenges facing cricket and to ensuring the best outcomes from a cricket point of view. We have invited CSA to engage in mediation on the issues. If CSA fails to comply and does not accept our invitation to mediate, SACA will be compelled to take the legal route."

A CSA spokesperson, meanwhile, told ESPNcricinfo it was "unfortunate that SACA chose to issue a press release as a means of communicating with CSA." The spokesperson added that no letter had yet been received as of Friday evening. "We have noted the same this Friday evening and will respond shortly."

Toss Rajasthan Royals chose to bat v Delhi Capitals

Rajasthan Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane has elected to bat first in a must-win match for his side to qualify for the IPL playoffs. Rahane takes over the reins again for the Royals after Steven Smith departed to return to Australia for a pre-World Cup preparation camp.

For Capitals, a win would move them into the top two on the IPL table where they would clinch an opportunity to have a direct path to the tournament final if Mumbai Indians lose their final match on Sunday against Kolkata Knight Riders.

Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer announced two changes in their XI, swapping out Chris Morris and J Suchith for Keemo Paul and Ishant Sharma. Royals have opted for extra spin to reinforce the decision to bat first as Ish Sodhi and K Gowtham came in for Smith and Jaydev Unadkat.

Delhi Capitals: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Colin Ingram, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Sherfane Rutherford, 8 Keemo Paul, 9 Ishant Sharma, 10 Amit Mishra, 11 Trent Boult

Rajasthan Royals: 1 Sanju Samson (wk), 2 Liam Livingstone, 3 Akinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Stuart Binny, 6 K Gowtham 7 Mahipal Lomror, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Varun Aaron, 10 Oshane Thomas, 11 Ish Sodhi

BOSTON -- George Hill has a saying -- nay, it is a rallying cry.

"It's, 'Bench mob, do your job!'" Hill told ESPN. "It's what we say when it's time for the starters to sit, and it's time for the Mob to keep us in the game."

Hill, who has often been the first off the bench for the Milwaukee Bucks, uses the phrase to motivate his fellow bench players. In Game 3, it was the Bucks' bench that made the difference. The Bucks' backups outscored the Boston Celtics' bench 42-16, and the Bucks defeated the Celtics 123-116 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Milwaukee was paced by 32 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Khris Middleton scored 20 points. The "Bench Mob" was led by Hill's 21 points. Pat Connaughton, who grew up eight miles from TD Garden in Arlington, Massachusetts, had 14 points.

"Me and George always talk about Bench Mob," Connaughton said. "It's not always going to be scoring. It's going to be rebounding, defending and bringing the overall energy into the game, and that's something we need to continue to do if we are going to be successful as a team."

When the Bucks signed Hill in December, they had the playoffs in mind. At the time, Milwaukee was in need of veteran leadership and players with playoff experience. Hill fit the mold, having played on the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers team that made it to the NBA Finals. Mike Budenholzer had previously coached Hill in San Antonio.

It took Hill several weeks to master the names of all of his coaches. Among his teammates, he quickly became a locker room favorite.

"That's my man," Eric Bledsoe said of Hill. "I am always proud of George coming in and picking up the slack. He played a helluva game."

Milwaukee's bench production was especially important, given that Bledsoe finished with only nine points on 4-of-15 shooting in Game 3.

"The biggest thing that is going to be an X factor is our bench," Bledsoe told ESPN before the series began. "They've been playing well."

The first two games of the series were lopsided blowouts. But Friday's game was competitive -- at least for the first three-and-a-half quarters. Celtics fans dressed as leprechauns and green gladiators oohed and aahed as Jaylen Brown threw down a left-handed dunk over Antetokounmpo. Kyrie Irving smoked defenders with his lethal crossover. Antetokounmpo scored a finger-roll layup from behind the backboard.

The game featured 15 ties and 13 lead changes. The Celtics built a 12-point lead in the second quarter. The Bucks cut it to five. The Celtics pushed their lead back to seven. The Bucks answered. The lead bobbed between the two teams, and at the half, the Celtics held a one-point lead.

Back and forth the Celtics and Bucks went again. Brown smashed down a left-handed dunk over Antetokounmpo, and Irving swatted Bledsoe.

The Bucks' momentum began to build in the third quarter. A Bucks lineup of Hill, Middleton, Connaughton, Ersan Ilyasova and Brook Lopez turned a Celtics four-point lead into an 11-point lead for the Bucks. In the span of five minutes, the Bucks outscored the Celtics 21-6. Hill scored 11 of his 21 points in the third quarter.

The Bucks never trailed in the fourth.

"On the road, in this environment, that's when coaches talk about needing guys who have experience, that have been there and that understand what it takes," Budenholzer said. "George in his performance tonight is the prime example of that."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Despite aggravating his separated left shoulder during the first overtime period of Friday's Game 3 against the Nuggets, Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter continued to play through the injury as Portland outlasted Denver 140-137 in quadruple OT, the longest NBA playoff game since 1953.

"First overtime, I think I separated my shoulder more," Kanter said postgame. "I had to tuck my arm into my jersey because I couldn't carry my arm. I'm glad we got a win, man. Whatever it takes. You've got to sacrifice everything. I'm proud of my teammates."

Whatever it freaking takes #RipCity pic.twitter.com/ok9l0Mf5I8

— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) May 4, 2019

Kanter originally suffered the injury during the clinching Game 5 of Portland's first-round win over the Oklahoma City Thunder and was questionable to play heading into this series. But he logged 30-plus minutes in each of the first two games, playing a crucial role for a Blazers team that lost starting center Jusuf Nurkic in March to season-ending compound fractures to the tibia and fibula of his lower left leg.

The 37 minutes Kanter had logged in regulation were already a playoff high before he aggravated the injury. Afterward, Kanter said he could no longer feel his shoulder. Still, he remained in the game, eventually playing a career-high 56 minutes and recording his third double-double of the postseason (18 points, 15 rebounds).

"The whole crowd was cheering," Kanter said. "Dame [Lillard] came up to me and said, 'Hey, one more overtime.' He said this three times. 'One more overtime. Come on, let's play hard.' I didn't want to quit on my teammate."

In the locker room, Kanter had ice packs on both his injured left shoulder as well as his right elbow, having suffered an injury to the bursa sack in the elbow on a hard fall.

Though he was able to play through pain Friday, Kanter was less certain of his status for Sunday's Game 4. His treatment between now and then will include painkillers, time in the cold tub and prayer.

"Sometimes you've got to make some sacrifices to get a win," Kanter said. "I'll get some painkillers for the next game. I hope I can play. But I'll be fine."

BOSTON -- As the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks convened at TD Garden for Game 3 of this Eastern Conference semifinal, all eyes were on the stars on both sides.

On this night, it was Giannis Antetokounmpo who played like the seasoned vet, repeatedly plowing through Boston's defense en route to 22 free throws and totals of 32 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists to lead the Bucks to a 123-116 victory over Kyrie Irving and the Celtics. The win allowed Milwaukee to regain control of this series.

"I'm just going to keep being aggressive," Antetokounmpo said. "That's what my teammates want me to do. I love getting to the free throw line. I've worked on it. I'm shooting my free throws with confidence, so it's easy points for me and my teammates. I'm just going to keep being aggressive and making the right plays, and sometimes if I've got to take it all the way, then I'll take it all the way."

Antetokounmpo's approach, contrasted with Irving's, was emblematic of how the night played out for both teams. Irving has been in these moments time and again in his career, and far more often than not, he has delivered. Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, is learning what life is like as the dominant force on a favored team in real time.

However, it was Antetokounmpo's aggression that set the tone for Milwaukee, allowing him to get virtually all of Boston's forwards in foul trouble and begin a parade to the foul line, particularly in the third quarter, when Milwaukee took over the game.

Irving, on the other hand, spent his night playing hero ball, jacking up one isolated jumper after another and failing to do enough to get his teammates involved. The Celtics settled for far too many long jumpers in this one, taking one more shot in the paint (27) than the Bucks made there (26).

"That's what they do," said Gordon Hayward, who had a very forgettable night (2-for-8 for 10 points). "They really suck in when people drive and meet you at the rim. Sometimes it's two, three, four guys are around. They are doing a good job of flying out afterward and trying to scramble."

Much of the scrambling done by the Celtics in this one revolved around their trying to find a way to stop Antetokounmpo from crashing through their defense and winding up at the foul line.

Nothing worked.

The beauty of Milwaukee's system under Mike Budenholzer -- and something that helped the Bucks earn the NBA's best record in the regular season -- is that it forces teams to make a choice: commit to trying to stop Antetokounmpo, a 6-foot-11 human bulldozer, from barreling to the rim or commit to trying to stop the many 3-point shooters the Bucks have surrounded him with.

The Celtics did neither. Milwaukee went 15-for-37 from 3-point range, as Antetokounmpo's supporting cast -- which many around the league doubted would hold up under the bright lights of a road game of this magnitude -- came through (even though Eric Bledsoe had yet another awful game in Boston, finishing with nine points on 4-for-15 shooting).

Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, went through Boston's defense over and over, getting virtually every Celtics wing player in foul trouble and setting the tone for Milwaukee's takeover of the game in the second half. In the third quarter, Milwaukee was in the bonus by the eight-minute mark, allowing the Bucks to get to the line 17 times in that quarter, eight of which came courtesy of Antetokounmpo.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens benched center Aron Baynes, playing him only two minutes, in favor of forward Semi Ojeleye. He said after the game that he was concerned about Baynes' ability to get out on 3-point shooters.

"But we may have to go back with that," Stevens said, "just because he provides a little more protection in the paint. And he'll take a charge off the ball, which I think is important."

In other words: The rest of the Celtics did not, which allowed Antetokounmpo to attack with more impunity.

As he paraded to the foul line, some complained about calls, including the partisan sellout crowd, which made its presence felt until Milwaukee broke the game open in the second half.

In truth, Boston shot only four fewer free throws -- and made six more. The difference in the game was the way the Celtics allowed the Bucks to dictate the terms of engagement at both ends of the court, something that had little to do with foul shots and everything to do with the approach both teams' stars brought to the game.

"The refs have a difficult job," Irving said. "We have a difficult job. Obviously, I could sit up here and complain -- we know the disparity and what it is -- but I'm not going to put all the emphasis on the refereeing. I think there are a lot of controllable things on our end that we can be better at. Obviously, the officiating is going to be part of it. You wish that things can go your way, but they don't. We have to be able to respond in a better circumstance. We just have to respond better, and I think we will do that going into Game 4."

So much of this season has been spent monitoring how the Celtics respond to one crisis or another, often of their own making. On this night, Irving and the Celtics resorted to old habits, including forced shots and arguments on the court.

This was the time of year, though, when Irving was supposed to be the difference. Instead, it was Antetokounmpo -- the presumptive league MVP -- who was, and as a result, he took home court back for the Bucks.

All Irving was left to do was declare that Game 4 will be different and that he'll be more forceful attacking the paint.

"I need to just keep my eyes on the rim and just be efficient in that paint area," Irving said. "I wish that I could have probably a more elaborate answer for you of what I've gotta do around that paint with my floater game, what I'm great at.

"But it's really just about being efficient, especially the rest of this series. From this point on, I don't think you'll see another 8-for-22 or any missed layups or looking for the refs for calls or anything like that ... when I do get in there, I'm looking to score and looking to finish with contact, whether the refs call it or not."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- After nearly three-and-a-half exhausting hours, CJ McCollum intercepted a desperation inbounds heave from Paul Millsap near half court to finally put an end to only the second four-overtime game in NBA playoff history.

In a marathon affair that started at 7:46 p.m. local time and ended at 11:13 p.m., the Nuggets and Trail Blazers matched the longest NBA playoff game, with Portland left standing at the end with a 140-137 win over Denver on Friday night at the Moda Center.

Afterward, mentally and physically spent coaches and players from both sides tried to process what they had just experienced as the Blazers barely outlasted the Nuggets to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinals series.

Denver coach Michael Malone called the game an "instant classic."

"It was almost like, when is this game going to end?" Malone said in the aftermath of what was a grueling loss for his young Nuggets team. "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."

Not since Red Auerbach was roaming the sideline in a 1953 East Division semifinal between the Boston Celtics and Syracuse Nationals has there been a four-overtime playoff game played in the NBA. There has never been a five-overtime NBA playoff game.

The numbers from this game were simply staggering. Start with Denver's Nikola Jokic, who played 64 minutes, 58 seconds, the fourth-most minutes in a playoff game.

"Sixty-five minutes," Portland's Maurice Harkless said as he looked at the final stat sheet. "That's crazy ... [there's] a lot to process, honestly."

Jokic poured in an unforgettable triple-double of 33 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists. But those numbers tell only half the story as Jokic played almost all the way from halftime through the fourth overtime, going an exhausting 43:58 consecutively until he was subbed out with 2.8 seconds left for defensive purposes at the end of the fourth overtime.

No one has ever seen a player log those kind of minutes since 1953.

"They were talking about I'm not in shape," Jokic said of critics who have judged him off appearance of his body type and fitness. "I'm in really good shape. I don't know what they're talking about. Even when I came here [from Serbia] I was a little bit chubby. There's no difference even now. It's a basketball game. I'm feeling good."

Jokic, who afterward had a plastic bag with two gatorade bottles and one bottled water ready to take back to his hotel with him, probably will replay the final moments of Game 3 in his head. As brilliant as his night was, he missed the front end of two free throws with a chance to tie the score with 5.6 seconds left in the fourth overtime. Seth Curry then sank two free throws with 2.8 seconds left before McCollum stole Millsap's inbounds pass at half court to secure the win.

Afterward, Malone said he apologized to his 7-foot All-Star for playing him the most minutes in a playoff game in the shot-clock era.

"I mean, Nikola Jokic played 65 minutes tonight," Malone said. "That's unheard of. That's ridiculous. I can't do that to him, that's too many minutes."

McCollum led all scorers with 41 points, shooting 16-of-39, in 60 minutes. Damian Lillard had 28 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds in 58 minutes.

Rodney Hood came off the bench for a cramping Harkless and became the hero for the Blazers in the fourth overtime, scoring seven consecutive points for the Blazers in the last 1:07 of the game to help them turn a 133-131 deficit into a 138-136 lead.

"I have no idea what happened in the first half or the second half or the first three overtimes," Portland coach Terry Stotts said, probably only half-joking. "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."

The Blazers actually led 77-67 with 2:13 left in the third quarter, but Jokic scored 17 of his points in that quarter and Will Barton had 10 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including scoring on a cutting layup off a pass from Jokic with 28.6 seconds left to tie the score at 102 in regulation.

At the end of the first overtime, McCollum hit a 7-foot floater to tie the score at 109 before Jokic missed a 27-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer.

In the second overtime, the score was tied at 118 but neither team could score in the last minute before the game went to a third overtime.

All the while, the sellout crowd of 20,193 was sensing that something special was taking place. Incredibly loud from the opening tip, Blazers fans mostly remained in their seats, running up the stairs only to go to the bathroom or to get food between the overtimes.

"It's just like a heavyweight bout," Stotts said. "Battle of attrition."

"I think everyone is kind of tired mentally, physically," Stotts added. "The game was won and lost so many times by both teams. Every overtime was a roller coaster."

In the third overtime, the Nuggets led 129-125 with 32.2 seconds left, but Lillard scored on layup and then Jamal Murray -- who gutted out 55 minutes with thigh and shoulder injuries and had 34 points -- lost the ball out of bounds with 19.2 seconds left. Lillard made the Nuggets pay by scoring on a layup again with 8.4 seconds to go before Murray missed a 3 at the buzzer to send the game to a fourth overtime.

Malone said he told Jokic and his players that they weren't tired, not to even entertain a thought about being exhausted during timeouts.

"Adrenaline kicks in," Murray said. "Especially now, not thinking about my leg, my shoulder when it's a close game like that. I was just playing."

Afterward, giddy Blazers fans were buzzing on their way out of the arena, while there were pockets of fans who remained in their seats 15-20 minutes after the game, still amazed at what they had witnessed.

In a quiet Nuggets locker room, players got dressed without saying much as several of them downed Gatorade bottles to replenish fluids.

Even the winning side wasn't quite sure how the next 24 hours would go and feel.

"It takes me back to my AAU days playing with King James," McCollum said of growing up in Ohio. "Playing four, five or six games in a day. Eating McDonald's or Burger King in between. Now it's a little different playing 60."

The Nuggets and Blazers will have to somehow recover to face each other again at 4 p.m. PT on Sunday for Game 4. The Nuggets overcame a 2-1 deficit in the first round and needed seven games to get past the San Antonio Spurs.

Now they have to somehow find a way to steal Game 4 in Portland or return to Denver down 3-1.

"I don't know if it was as much elation as it was relief," Stotts said of what it felt like to win. "But I'll take either one."

PORTLAND, Ore. -- When the confetti was finally released from the rafters and the final buzzer sounded on Game 3, the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets had played 68 minutes of basketball -- and they might have played 68 more had Nikola Jokic not missed a fatigued-induced free throw with 5.6 seconds left.

The Blazers had outlasted the Nuggets 140-137 in a three-and-a-half hour, four-overtime marathon, a grueling, exhausting, test of will. You could've watched "Avengers: Endgame," including the credits, and had time to spare. The landing gear would've been out on your flight from Portland to Denver. CJ McCollum ran 4.38 miles in the game. Jokic played the most minutes in a playoff game in the shot clock era. The only other time four overtimes were played in a playoff game, Red Auerbach was coaching -- and was four years away from winning his first championship.

It was a game that seemed to be over 20 different times, with each team taking its turn as the winner.

"I have no idea what happened in the first half or the second half," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said, "or the first three overtimes."

So, what exactly did happen?

7:46 p.m. PT/10:46 p.m. ET

That's when the game started. Remember that? The Blazers won the tip. Little did they know, four more of them at midcourt were coming. Al-Farouq Aminu scored the first points of the game on a free throw. The first quarter score was 23-17, with the Blazers surging with a 7-0 run over the final three minutes. It felt like a big moment.

8:44 p.m. PT/11:44 p.m. ET

Halftime: The Blazers led 48-47. Pretty close game despite Portland leading by as many as 10. Jamal Murray (16 points) and Damian Lillard (10 points) were the only players in double figures as both teams were under 40 percent shooting from the field.

9:12 p.m. PT/12:12 a.m. ET

Jokic was playing somewhat passive, and Nuggets coach Mike Malone challenged him in a timeout.

"I said listen, we've gotta get this big fella going, we've gotta start getting him the ball," Malone said. "I don't care if they were double-teaming him or not, let's keep getting him the ball, let him make plays, let him be aggressive and score and he was able to do so."

Midway through the third, Jokic had only six points. He scored 17 in the quarter and 27 of his 33 after halftime, finishing with a monster triple-double that included 18 rebounds and 14 assists.

Jokic was all that was keeping the Nuggets in it, too. The Blazers were starting to separate, and after playing facilitator and decoy for much of the first three quarters, Lillard came alive. He slithered off a high screen and popped a 30-footer from straightaway and the Blazers led by eight with 2:44 left in the third. He made two free throws a possession later and it was a 77-67 Portland lead with 2:13 left in the third quarter. Jokic answered back with seven in the final 90 seconds of the third to cut it to five heading to the fourth.

9:56 p.m. PT/12:56 a.m. ET

Murray, who was playing with an injured thigh and shoulder, hit a vicious step-back 3 to put the Nuggets up five with 1:56 to go. Maurice Harkless answered it with a 3 a few seconds later, then had an and-1 chance that would've put the Blazers up with 1:04 left. He missed the free throw, but the Nuggets turned it over and Lillard hit what seemed to be a trademark Dame Time kind of shot -- a running floater with 31.6 seconds left to put the Blazers up two. Before the play, it looked as if Stotts wanted a timeout, but Lillard waved it off and wanted the ball inbounded. The Nuggets had been bracketing and trapping him the entire game, and he didn't want to let them scheme the ball out of his hands again.

The Nuggets called timeout and Malone drew up a beauty. Jokic hit a weaving Will Barton on a backcut for a layup and it was tied again with 28.6 seconds left. The Nuggets got it out of Lillard's hands this time, with Aminu missing an open 3 with 6.7 seconds left. The Nuggets grabbed the rebound but took a dribble before the timeout meaning they couldn't advance the ball. They didn't even get a shot off. End of regulation.

10:20 p.m. PT/1:20 a.m. ET

McCollum was cooking in overtime, throwing haymakers. Everything was running through him.

"I always enjoy when CJ gets rolling because it's not just the fact he's doing it for our team, it's the way it looks," Lillard said. "Guys like him and Kyrie Irving, they have the game that just look good, just smooth. Crossovers, crafty, tough shots so to just to watch it was great as a teammate and as a friend. Just the time that it came, It was just big shot after big shot after big shot after big shot and for me my job is to allow that. When he's rolling, let him keep rolling."

But as they did all night, the Nuggets responded. Paul Millsap took advantage of Rodney Hood in the paint and put Denver up two with 47.1 seconds left. Lillard missed a step-back, but stole it back from Torrey Craig with 16 seconds left. Lillard airballed a layup -- really -- but the Blazers kept it alive, and after some madness and chaos, McCollum hit a composed runner with 8.7 seconds left. The Nuggets got the final look, a 27-foot 3 from Jokic that hit back iron. Double overtime.

10:32 p.m. PT/1:32 a.m. ET

Lillard made a 28-foot 3 to put the Blazers up five with 2:50 left in the second overtime, and all that was missing was some wrist tapping. It felt as if it were that time. Barton, though, had other ideas. He answered with a 3, then Millsap finished a short runner to tie the score again. McCollum hit a pull-up jumper, and Gary Harris finished a reverse layup. There was a jump ball between Lillard and Murray with 4.1 seconds left, and the toss by the referee was comically bad, tilted completely toward Lillard. The Blazers won the tip and called timeout.

The last shot was almost from the same spot Lillard ended the series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 30 feet away from the right wing, near the Moda Center logo. Craig contested it and Lillard missed it to the left. Neither team scored in the last minute of the second overtime.

10:36 p.m. PT/1:36 a.m. ET

McCollum reheated in the third overtime. A 19-foot pull-up, a 22-foot step-back, a 26-foot ruthless 3-pointer. The Nuggets answered. Murray hit two free throws with 1:25 left to put Denver up two, then Millsap hit a gorgeous turnaround jumper that had the look of a shot that would settle things. The Nuggets led 129-125 with 32.2 seconds left, and the Blazers called timeout.

Lillard darted for a layup in less than five seconds, and with only a three-second difference between the shot and game clock, the Blazers tried to force a steal. McCollum pressured Murray, and pinned him up against the sideline, McCollum poked the ball away. In real time, it appeared the ball was obviously off McCollum, but fingers twirled in the air asking for a review, and with the footage grainy as it rolled through frame by frame, it was clearly off of Murray's fingertips.

After the ensuring inbounds play, Lillard went straight back to the rim with 8.4 seconds left and tied it. The Nuggets got another last crack, and after drawing a switch with Enes Kanter on him, Murray missed a 31-footer than banked off the backboard and rim.

Game 3 was now officially tied as the longest playoff game ever.

10:53 p.m. PT/1:53 a.m. ET

When the fourth overtime started, Jokic had already logged 60 minutes, including 39 consecutive without a break. It was so many that Malone apologized to Jokic after the game in the locker room.

"To be honest in that moment, in that time you don't even think about how much minutes you are playing," Jokic said. "You're just trying to win a game. After the game of course, I mean I think it's a lot, but I'm not going to go out in the fourth overtime."

Both teams were, understandably, gassed. Barton had a little juice and scored the first points of the fourth overtime. Kanter answered after collecting an airballed Aminu jumper. Barton hit a pull-up jumper with 2:49 left, and after a minute passed, the game finally had its answer.

Rodney Hood hadn't played since the last minute of the first overtime but checked in for Harkless with 1:59 left. The Blazers have been trying to exploit mismatches, particularly with Murray as the defender, during the series so they went straight to Hood on the block. He backed down Murray and hit a turnaround jumper. Lillard said to run that back.

"I think it was at one point we were down two and coach called a play for him and he scored it," Lillard said. "And then the next time I was like same play, and he looked at me like what we doing, and I was like, same thing. Let's keep it rolling and he hit another one."

Hood isolated on Murray and hit a baseline step-back. The Nuggets were up 136-135, though, with 27.6 seconds left. McCollum missed a jumper coming out of a Portland timeout, but he followed his shot and tracked a rebound. He spotted Hood open on the wing.

"I see him out of the corner of my eyes when I rose, and I was like OK, if I do miss this, it's probably going to come back to me," McCollum said. "So I followed, and I jumped and right when I jumped I looked and I was like, 'Uh-oh.' ... I got excited so I tried to throw it as fast as possible. And when he pump-faked it, I was like, 'Uh-oh' ... and he sidestepped and cashed out. I was like big, big shot Rodney, We needed that. Because I don't know what was going to happen down the stretch in a fifth or sixth overtime."

Coaches often don't like to sub in overtime situations, preferring to stick with the players in the flow of the game because they're worried guys on the bench might be too stiff or cold to be ready. It looked as if Stotts had bucked that logic and found some fresh legs, and a matchup issue for Denver. Not quite.

"I'd like to take credit for that," Stotts said, "but Moe was cramping up a little bit. That was the reason for the substitution."

For Hood, it was a triumphant moment of redemption after his last postseason was one of disappointment and difficulty. Traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers midseason from the Utah Jazz and seen as a key part to help LeBron James, Hood fell out of favor and was effectively benched in the playoffs.

"I stayed patient, didn't get down on myself even when a lot of people did," Hood said with the emotion obvious on his face. "I just didn't give up, I didn't give up on myself and I just kept playing, kept working. And I had no idea that I would end up here 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 year, last go-around ... to be here is very emotional for me, to be quite frank. A lot more basketball to go through, but it feels good right now.

"I was telling Gary Trent and [Anfernee Simons] that if I got a chance, I was gonna end it."

Of course, Game 3 wasn't quite over with, though. Hood's shot put Portland up two, and Denver had another shot. Jokic was fouled, and with the Moda Center crowd quaking, he missed the first free throw. He made the second, but Seth Curry subsequently made both of his, and a desperation toss was picked off by McCollum and finally, Game 3 ended at 11:13 p.m. local time, 2:13 a.m. on the East Coast.

Lillard pulled in Aminu and Harkless, two of his closest teammates and players he always feels are undervalued, and hugged them. He then gathered the entire team at midcourt. Fans poured into the concourses, chanting and high-fiving one another. Game 4 was set to tip off in a little more than 36 hours and both teams were already in recovery mode. The Blazers had already canceled Saturday's practice.

For both teams, losing was going to be mentally anguishing, a hurdle in and of itself to know that much work went in to come out empty-handed. Lillard said he had thought about the consequences of losing and what kind of effect that could carry.

"I just remember the third overtime, we was down four with 30 seconds left, and I was just like I know it's not a lot of time, probably going to end of having to foul," he said. "Like something is going to have to work out because I started thinking about how I would feel when I got home tonight. And I was just like, 'We just can't have this right now.' I'm sure everyone was thinking that same way about how they would feel if they went home tonight and know that we went home and left this game out there and didn't take care of business, so we got it done."

It's only one game. It's now 2-1 in favor of the Blazers, with a critical Game 4 ahead soon.

"Well, it's one and a half, since we played a game and a half," Stotts said. "So let's get [credit for] 1.5. But we still have to get to four."