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Nuggets Series Gets Once In A Lifetime Save

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Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon

As brilliant as Nikola Jokic‘s touch usually is, his final shot was almost a foot off the mark on Saturday. Luckily, Aaron Gordon is no stranger to corralling basketballs in midair. So, as the final buzzer sounded and Gordon’s slipped the ball into the rim as if he caught an alley-oop rather than a 3 that went wide left, the Denver Nuggets were able to walk off the floor with a win on a first-of-its-kind-play.

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See, Gordon didn’t just allow his team to plant their flag in Intuit Dome. He converted the first game-winning buzzer-beater dunk in playoffs history.

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It’s an arbitrary accomplishment perhaps, but one that he likely won’t forget any time soon. Following the game, the former fourth overall pick wittily remarked that it was “a nice pass” from Jokic. Though one of the league’s most spectacular facilitators, Jokic couldn’t even bring himself to play along.

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The rarity of Gordon’s moment was only outweighed by the gravity of it.

Nuggets Series Gets Once In A Lifetime Save From Aaron Gordon

To be fair, had Gordon not been able to flush basketball before the horn sounded, the Nuggets would’ve simply went to overtime as the score was knotted up at 99. However, the Los Angeles Clippers outscored Denver by 18 points in the fourth quarter, 34-16. With that in mind, basketball is a game of moments; of momentum. The Clippers had so much of it that there’s a reasonable chance they would’ve emerged victorious in the overtime period.

Adding to that possibility is the reality surrounding the Nuggets’ supporting cast.

Gordon is battered and bruised. Michael Porter Jr.‘s more of a carcass than a body. Jamal Murray is under the weather. Murray and Jokic both had four fouls.

In five more minutes, they might’ve been leaving the arena down 3-1. If so, the conversations would’ve been pretty uncomfortable.

Fingers would’ve been pointed at Murray, Porter, and Russell Westbrook. Questions about the future of those three and Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman would’ve dominated local headlines. Jokic’s commitment to the franchise is essentially a foregone conclusion, as he’s cut from the cloth of Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki. However, sensationalists would hardly hesitate to drum up storylines about his possible interest in the Los Angeles Lakers post-Luka Doncic.

What Does Fate Have In Store?

Honestly, if the Nuggets are bounced in the First Round, pandemonium may be inevitable.

Clippers veteran stars James Harden and Kawhi Leonard have far more left in the tank than many assumed ahead of the 2024-25 season. The star duo is buoyed by former role players that have evolved offensively and ultra-effective defensive personnel. Nonetheless, Jokic has reached a level of greatness that demands his team make it out of the First Round as a bare minimum.

No longer is being competitive enough. Denver literally has to be able to compete for an NBA championship. Anything less than that would be considered a failure, to be frank.

With that being said, Gordon did change the team’s fortunes in Game 4. The question is whether that’s all he changed.

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