By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Aaron Gordon came up big after splashing the game-winning three-pointer that steered the Denver Nuggets to a come-from-behind 121-119 Game 1 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the ongoing NBA Western Conference best-of-seven semifinal playoff series on May 6, 2025.
Down by a point, 118-119, after Chet Holmgren missed all of his shots from the charity stripe, the Nuggets quickly launched their counter-attack led by Christian Braun who rebounded the leather and kicked off the break.
Braun pitched the extra pass to Russell Westbrook, who raced down the floor and reached the opponent’s elbow with 5.7 seconds left on the clock.
As he mapped his options on the floor, the veteran floor general saw the trailing Gordon from the right side of the court and threw an on-point swivel pass directly to his shooting pocket.
Without resistance from the scattered Oklahoma defense, Gordon set his feet, rose for the three-point jumper, and just gave the Nuggets a two-point lead, 121-119, in the final 2.8 seconds of the ball game.
The Thunder had no timeouts left, which resulted in a desperation hail mary heave attempt from Jalen Williams. The long bomb badly missed, allowing the visiting Denver squad to pull off the huge upset on the road despite an exhausting Game 7 win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round.
It was a disappointing meltdown for the no.1 team in the West, especially after holding a 14-point lead in the third while dictating the tempo for the majority of the affair.
Denver struck first in the opening frame after holding an eight-point lead, but as soon as Shai-Gilgeous Alexander caught fire, the Thunder instantly reclaimed the driver’s seat and led in the next 28 minutes.
Oklahoma looked like they already had the matchup in the bag after protecting a nine-point lead with only four minutes remaining in the final canto.
Just when the home squad thought they could sustain their strategy of letting Nikola Jokic work while locking the other four down, the former NBA champions stepped up when it mattered the most as Gordon, Jamal Murray, and the big fella from Serbia joined hands to trim their deficit to just a point, 114-115, to put the pressure back on the Thunder.
The final minute figured several chess matches between the two head coaches, with Oklahoma chief tactician Mark Daigneault opting to foul with his team holding a three-point lead under 25 seconds left.
Daigneault’s decision to foul was to neutralize Denver’s chances of having early three-point equalizing attempts, but that pick-your-poison counter suddenly infested them.
When it was Denver’s chance to foul, Holmgren, who is an excellent free throw shooter, fumbled all of his chances at the stripe, which paved the way for the Nuggets to push the rock, finding the wide-open Gordon in the most crucial stretch of the game.
Gordon capped off his clutch outing with 22 points built from an efficient 3/6 shooting from downtown, alongside 14 rebounds and an assist.
Meanwhile, NBA MVP candidate Jokic had himself a feast underneath OKC’s shaded lane and led all scorers with 42 markers. He also stuffed the stat sheets and tallied 22 boards, six assists, two blocks, and a steal.
On the other hand, Oklahoma suffered its first NBA Playoff loss of the season after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. The top squad in the West will aim to redeem themselves on May 8, 2025, in Game 2 of their semifinal showdown.
