<p>DENVER &mdash; Michael Porter Jr.’s 3-pointer with 1:33 left in the second overtime helped the Denver Nuggets squelch an epic comeback by the Portland Trail Blazers with a 147-140 win Tuesday night in Game 5 of the playoff series.</p>
<p>The Nuggets won despite Damian Lillard’s franchise playoff record 55 points.</p>
<p>Lillard scored 17 of Portland’s 19 points in the two overtimes, but he didn’t score again after his 12th 3-pointer in 17 attempts put the Blazers ahead 140-138 with 3:47 left.</p>
<p>And his teammates didn’t score again, either.</p>
<p>Nikola Jokic, who scored 38 points and came one assist shy of a triple-double, tied it at 140 with a layup and Porter broke the tie with a 3 from the left corner with 1:33 left.</p>
<p>The Blazers still were within three points until a pair of costly mistakes sent them back to Portland for Game 6 on Thursday night trailing the Nuggets 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.</p>
<p>First, Robert Covington missed a dunk with 41 seconds left and then CJ McCollum stepped out of bounds with 9.1 seconds left and Lillard setting up for another 3.</p>
<p>Monte Morris, who scored 28 points off the bench, hit a pair of free throws with 8.8 seconds to seal it, and Shaq Harrison added two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.</p>
<p>Lillard broke his own franchise scoring record, a 50-point outburst against Oklahoma City on April 23, 2019.</p>
<p>Lillard’s 3-pointer with three seconds left in regulation tied it at 121. His 3 with 6.4 seconds left in the first overtime tied it at 135 and that capped Portland’s comeback from a quick nine-point deficit in the extra period after Denver hit a trio of 3s.</p>
<p>The Nuggets made three quick 3-pointers in the first overtime, two by Morris and another by Austin Rivers, to surge ahead 132-123. Portland missed its first five long balls in the extra period before Lillard sank three in the final minute to force a second overtime.</p>
<p>By holding on, Denver improved to 187-1 in games since April 2, 2008, in which they led at any point by 22 or more, including the postseason.</p>
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