Aaron Gordon Saves the Nuggets with a Last-Second Dunk

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A thrilling and historic buzzer-beating dunk by Aaron Gordon ignited exuberant celebrations on Saturday night as the Denver Nuggets triumphed over the Los Angeles Clippers with a score of 101-99, leveling their playoff first round series at 2-2. With only 1.8 seconds left, Nikola Jokić’s airball seemed to indicate that the game was destined for overtime with the score tied at 99. However, Gordon had different plans, executing a powerful dunk with just 0.1 seconds remaining before celebrating joyfully. This was followed by nearly three minutes of tension as Gordon and his teammates awaited the referees' decision on whether he had released the ball prior to the buzzer. Once it was confirmed that he had, the Nuggets' celebrations resumed vigorously, while boos echoed from the audience at Intuit Dome. Whether they liked it or not, the LA crowd had just witnessed a historic moment in the NBA – Gordon’s dunk marked the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk in playoff history since the detailed play-by-play records began in the 1997-98 season. “Nice pass,” Gordon humorously remarked to Jokić during their post-game press conference. “Joker was attempting to showcase the Sombor Shuffle. He has made shots like that before. I was just there to clean up the glass. He shot it with enough time for us to have a chance to rebound,” the former Slam Dunk Contest finalist elaborated. “I was simply in the right place at the right time.” The Nuggets held a two-point lead at halftime, but the most significant incident prior to that had occurred with 6.6 seconds left in the second quarter. Following a foul by Christian Braun on James Harden near midcourt, a verbal exchange ensued between Harden and the Nuggets shooting guard. This confrontation prompted Gordon to intervene, inadvertently striking Norman Powell in the face. Despite the Clippers fans chanting “Kick him out!”, Gordon was issued a technical foul, along with Harden, Braun, Powell, Jokić, and Kris Dunn.

In the third quarter, Denver demonstrated remarkable performance, outscoring LA 35-17 to establish an 85-65 advantage. However, fueled by Kawhi Leonard's 10 points, the Clippers mounted a comeback in the fourth quarter, seizing the lead for the first time with 1:11 left, thanks to Bogdan Bogdanović’s offensive rebound and subsequent basket. A free throw and a basket from Jokić brought the score to 99-97, but Ivica Zubac's efforts seemed to send the game into overtime. Nevertheless, Gordon's late-game heroics prevented that outcome. Gordon concluded the game with 14 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Jokić topped the scoring with 36 points, 21 rebounds, and eight assists, becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to achieve at least 35 points, 20 rebounds, and eight assists in a playoff game. Braun and Michael Porter Jr. contributed 17 points each for Denver, while Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. This marks the second instance in the series where the Nuggets have triumphed by narrow margins, having won Game 1 by two points in overtime. Game 5 is scheduled to take place in Denver on Tuesday night. In other NBA news, Steph Curry ensured the Golden State Warriors coped well without the injured Jimmy Butler, scoring 36 points, along with seven rebounds and nine assists, in a 104-93 victory over the Houston Rockets, giving them a 2-1 series lead. Additionally, the Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to advance to the second round of the playoffs, completing a four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies with a 117-115 win, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned to form, scoring 38 points after a challenging start to the series.