Rodney Hood played about two of the 20 extra minutes contested by the Trail Blazers and Nuggets in Game 3 of their playoff series Friday night. Did he ever make the most of that playing time.
The Portland reserve guard hit the eventual game-winning 3-pointer in his team's 140-137, four-overtime victory. The bucket with 17.8 seconds remaining was part of a seven-point outburst over about a 50-second span of game time. Hood finished with a playoff career-high 19 points in 24 minutes.
"I was telling (Blazers guard) Gary Trent . . . that if I got a chance I was going to end it," Hood told reporters after the game (video via ESPN). "I felt like that game needed kind of fresh energy and I could make a difference. I was kind of excited that I went back in in the fourth overtime."
Hood has become a key bench player in this Western Conference second-round series, which Portland now leads two games to one. He is averaging 17 points in 23.0 minutes over the three games. He scored 16 points total in the Blazers' first-round series victory over the Thunder.
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The fifth-year pro is playing in the postseason for his third franchise in as many seasons. He was with the Jazz in 2017, the Cavaliers last year and now the Blazers, who acquired him from Cleveland last February.
For now, he'll be remembered most for his contributions in a Portland uniform, specifically the shot that helped to end the second four-overtime playoff game in league history. (The first was in 1953.)
