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Denver – C.J. McCollum does not have a thing to do when he is ready to move up a gear. This signature transfer has long been reserved for his criminal partner, Portland NB All Blues rush guard, Damian Lillard.
But after the show that McCollum presented during what is usually called "Lady Time", someone has to suggest something.
McCollum fired to fuel the Trail Blazers' epic rally of a 17-point deficit to stifle Denver Nuggets 100-96 on Sunday in Match 7 of the Western Conference semifinals at the Pepsi Center.
McCollum ensured that the Blazers won their ticket to the Western Conference finals for the first time in 19 years, where they will face Team Lillard who grew up in Oakland during his leaner years. McCollum's 37-point nuclear effort has also strengthened Lillard's status as one of basketball's elite backcourts, a figure he can count on to shine in the playoffs as well as in the regular season.
From its perverse and methodical destruction of the Nuggets' attempts to take away its Chasing down on the defensive side, McCollum was in assassin mode one night when "Lady Time" never materialized.
Lillard had a brutal 3-on-17 exit, unable to follow the path he made when he scored 32 points in the Blazers' Game 6 win in Portland on Thursday, which helped make Sunday possible.
He was unable to make the same effort he made in round five of the first round, when his 37-foot defender broke the buzzer and disappointed the Oklahoma City Thunder for the off-season.
Again, he did not have to shred the Nuggets with McCollum every turn.
McCollum's work – 17-for-29 ground, just one for 3 deepest, to go with nine rebounds and this block – was delivered as it was, on the stage where it was, gives credibility to the theory Apart from Splash, brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Lillard and McCollum are the most dynamic goalkeepers in the league.
But that's a conversation for another time, long after the tumultuous celebration that the Blazers and their fans had in the corner of the arena behind their bench after McCollum's pull-up with 12.4 seconds provided the winning margin and two free throws Evan Turner with 8.0 seconds. play sealed victory back.
"I thought I was aggressive," McCollum said. "Before the game, my brother sent me a text message and told me not to install it. He told me to go to the middle of the range, to the float, to the edge as much as possible, so I just tried to be as aggressive as possible … I wanted to dump the clip this evening. And I thought I did that.
And then some.
"Obviously, we tried to give him the ball in the plans and put his teammates in the right places," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, about what he had called for McCollum during his blitz of 22 points in the second half. "But he wanted the ball and he has the ability to make things happen. We went to see him on the way and he made big games. "
McCollum also handled the pressure of the game better than anyone on the field, in both teams. The Nuggets have clearly struggled with the magnitude of the moment. Jamal Murray suffered a brutal shooting night (4 against 18) and showed his age (21). Nikola Jokic, a monster of this series and really of this complete post-match (the first of the career of the great player All-Star) ran out of gas late at night while the threat of the triple-double marked 29 points and 12 rebounds, but only two assists.
"For us, tonight is the end of the season, but I'm not going to let this seventh game defeat win this magical year," said Nuggets coach Mike Malone, whose team no Could not enjoy the best game in the country. record (34-7) during the regular season when they need it most. "It's not what I feel at the moment, but when I think and our players think about what we've been able to accomplish … an amazing year, I could not ask our guys any more. "
Stotts either, who has seen different players win throughout the series.
As rewarding as seeing his guys cope with the pressure of Sunday's game – the same pressure that plagued the young Nuggets head-to-head when they collapsed in the second half – the Blazers are realizing the challenge ahead of them. match two defending champions.
The Warriors made the magic of the playoffs Friday night, eliminating the Houston Rockets Game 6 of their semifinal conference without the services of two starters; Kevin Durant (calf) and cousins DeMarcus (quad) could make appearances, but will enter the final phase of the conference unavailable.
Thus, any joy arising from returning to this level since late spring 1999-2000 will be short-lived. The immediate future of the Blazers is to jump back into the bunker for the first game against the Warriors at Oracle Arena on Tuesday, where Lillard and McCollum will be able to get together with their Splash Brothers rivals. Add to that the story of Seth Curry and Steph, the Blazers' reserve guard, becoming the first brothers in the history of the NBA to face it in a conference finale.
The prospect of what McCollum did on Sunday will not come for a while, years from now, when these guys will have spent their time playing.
Such is the fate of a performance as breathtaking in real time as for fans of Blazers and as captivating as for basketball fans captivated by the first of the seventh game of the day. This will remain in history as one of the iconic moments of a franchise that has seen little in the last two decades since their last competition for the chance to qualify for the trophy (Larry O & R). # 39; Brien). field.
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