After an improbable game-winning dunk at the buzzer to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in game four in the first round, Arizona alum Aaron Gordon hit a three-point shot with 2.8 seconds remaining to give the Denver Nuggets a 121-119 victory in game one at Oklahoma City on Monday.
Gordon finished with 22 points and 15 rebounds, with seven offensive on 7-15 from the field, 3-6 three-point attempts, and 5-5 free throws. Denver trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter and had a nine-point deficit with three minutes remaining before capping their wild comeback.
Gordon scored eight points in the fourth quarter and redeemed himself late after Jalen Williams blocked his shot with 19.1 seconds remaining and Denver trailing 115-114. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander made two free throws to extend the lead to 117-114 with 13.2 seconds remaining.
Oklahoma City chose to foul up three points. After Nikola Jokic made two free throws, Gilgeous-Alexander dunked to put OKC up 119-116 with 11.0 seconds remaining. Gordon was fouled with 10.1 seconds remaining and made two free throws to set up his own heroics.
Russell Westbrook fouled Chet Holmgren with 9.1 seconds remaining. Holmgren missed both free throws. Christian Braun got the rebounds and passed it ahead to Westbrook on the right wing, who found Gordon open on the left side of the floor in front of the Oklahoma City bench, where he hit the game-winning three-point shot.
Denver earned the win about 48 hours after they eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers in game seven of the first round. Oklahoma City was off for eight days after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round. The Thunder set the NBA record for the largest accumulative victory margin in NBA history.
Oklahoma City is the top seed in the 2025 NBA Playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 68-14 record. Denver is at Oklahoma City for game two on Wednesday night with tip-off at 6:30 Mountain Standard Time on TNT, truTV and Max.