Aaron Gordon nailed a game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left, complementing Nikola Jokić’s historic 42-point, 22-rebound performance, as the Denver Nuggets stunned the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday night.
“We didn’t want to miss the moment,” said Gordon, who also hit a buzzer-beater against the Clippers in the first round. He added 22 points and 14 rebounds, earning praise from interim coach David Adelman as the “soul of the team.” Jokić, the fourth player in playoff history with 40 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists, kept Denver alive despite foul trouble.
Russell Westbrook assisted on Gordon’s winner, and Jamal Murray contributed 21 points. Denver capitalized on Chet Holmgren’s two missed free throws and converted all four free throws in the final 12.9 seconds. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, while Alex Caruso added 20 points and five steals.
The Thunder led 113-102 with 4:31 remaining but collapsed against the veteran Nuggets. Despite a controversial flagrant-1 foul on Jokić (his fifth), Denver stayed in the game. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault stood by his intentional fouling strategy: “It didn’t work tonight, but we’ll learn from it.”
