Michael Porter Jr. coming up big for the Nuggets as he plays through pain of sprained left shoulder

DENVER (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. hasn’t really been able to take off his uniform by himself going on three weeks now because of a sprained left shoulder that has essentially turned him into a one-armed hoopster in these playoffs.

He can’t really guide his jump-shot with his left hand ever since he sprained his left A.C. joint in a scramble for a loose ball in Round 1 against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 22.

It’s hard for him to corral rebounds with both hands and he sometimes winces when passes drift to his left side.

Not only that, but on the night he got hurt he revealed that the brace on his left foot was broken and that he’d had a hard time finding a replacement that fits properly. The brace helps him play through a condition called “dropped foot,” that resulted from his multiple back surgeries earlier in his career.

Yet, there he was picking up the slack on Nikola Jokic’s off-night in Denver’s 113-104 Game 3 overtime win Friday night over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

“Even though playing through it makes it heal slower, they know it’s not something that’s dangerous to play with, per se,” Porter said. “So, they’re trusting me to go out there and space the floor, make it easier on other guys if I can and then I’ve just got to contribute on the glass and defensively as best I can and be ready to knock down open shots.”

With his left shoulder heavily bandaged and pumped full of Lidocaine, Porter did all of that and more Friday night.

He scored 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting that included a 5-of-6 clip from deep and he pulled down eight rebounds, seven on the defensive glass, to counter OKC’s swarming defense and offensive prowess.

“When they shoot the ball it feels like the whole world is in the paint,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “And you just have to win those and sometimes the ball gets tipped and you’ve got to play through the elbows and win the 50-50 knockout defensive rebounds because that leads to controlling the pace and getting our guys in a two-man game late.”

With Porter contributing at both ends of the floor, the Nuggets hung with the Thunder until Aaron Gordon’s late 3 sent it to overtime, where Denver outscored Oklahoma City 9-2.

Porter had expressed frustration after being held to 10 points total in Games 1 and 2 in Oklahoma City, where he shot a combined 3 for 18.

He at least felt a little more like himself Friday night.

“It’s been tough, playoffs and I’m wanting to play at a high level,” Porter said.

Doctors told him sprained AC joints take four to six weeks to heal up enough for him to return to action. He said no way even knowing that he’d face severe limitations that would cut into his productivity and even playing time.

“Suiting up I knew there would be games where I couldn’t produce like I wanted to or maybe I didn’t play as much as I wanted to,” Porter said. “But this is the playoffs and I wanted to go out there and at least try.

“It’s been an up-and-down playoffs for me, but that’s OK because we’re in a good position as a team.”

The Nuggets can take a 3-1 lead with a win Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena.

“When he first got hurt, it was like, damn, he’s going to play through that? It’s kind of crazy,” teammate Jamal Murray said. “People don’t understand what he’s played through and how much he’s played through his whole career. It’s just a testament to his resilience and his love for the game and his will to win.”

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