{"id":136478,"date":"2025-04-27T06:10:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-27T10:10:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=136478"},"modified":"2025-04-27T06:10:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-27T10:10:39","slug":"nuggets-series-gets-once-in-a-lifetime-save","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/27\/nuggets-series-gets-once-in-a-lifetime-save\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuggets Series Gets Once In A Lifetime Save"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As brilliant as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jokicni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nikola Jokic<\/a>&#8216;s touch usually is, his final shot was almost a foot off the mark on Saturday. Luckily, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/g\/gordoaa01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Aaron Gordon<\/a> is no stranger to corralling basketballs in midair. So, as the final buzzer sounded and Gordon&#8217;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 href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TimBontemps\/status\/1916302867406667936\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a first-of-its-kind-play<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">AARON GORDON DUNK AT THE BUZZER FOR THE NUGGETS WIN!!! \ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n<p>ONE OF THE CRAZIER ENDINGS YOU&#8217;LL SEE \ud83e\udd2f\ud83d\ude31<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TissotBuzzerBeater?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#TissotBuzzerBeater<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BVdHdAEP1Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/BVdHdAEP1Q<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBA (@NBA) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBA\/status\/1916294536441041174?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>See, Gordon didn&#8217;t just allow his team to plant their flag in Intuit Dome. He converted the first game-winning buzzer-beater dunk in playoffs history.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Aaron Gordon\u2019s happiness is all that matters tbh <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iOYqWJofrd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/iOYqWJofrd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tatiana (@Tatianaclinares) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tatianaclinares\/status\/1916298413827887430?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s an arbitrary accomplishment perhaps, but one that he likely won&#8217;t forget any time soon. Following the game, the former fourth overall pick wittily remarked that it was &#8220;a nice pass&#8221; from Jokic. Though one of the league&#8217;s most spectacular facilitators, Jokic couldn&#8217;t even bring himself to play along.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Aaron Gordon on the game winner: &#8220;It was a nice pass&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Jokic: &#8220;Yes&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Was it a pass?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;No, no it wasn&#8217;t&#8221; \ud83d\ude02 <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/AYxK9xGeaD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/AYxK9xGeaD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Oh No He Didn&#8217;t (@ohnohedidnt24) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ohnohedidnt24\/status\/1916313811427971566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 27, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The rarity of Gordon&#8217;s moment was only outweighed by the gravity of it.<\/p>\n<h2>Nuggets Series Gets Once In A Lifetime Save From Aaron Gordon<\/h2>\n<p>To be fair, had Gordon not been able to flush basketball before the horn sounded, the Nuggets would&#8217;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&#8217;s a reasonable chance they would&#8217;ve emerged victorious in the overtime period.<\/p>\n<p>Adding to that possibility is the reality surrounding the Nuggets&#8217; supporting cast.<\/p>\n<p>Gordon is battered and bruised. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/p\/portemi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Porter Jr.<\/a>&#8216;s more of a carcass than a body. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/m\/murraja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jamal Murray<\/a> is under the weather. Murray and Jokic both had four fouls.<\/p>\n<p>In five more minutes, they might&#8217;ve been leaving the arena down 3-1. If so, the conversations would&#8217;ve been pretty uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>Fingers would&#8217;ve been pointed at Murray, Porter, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/w\/westbru01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Russell Westbrook<\/a>. Questions about the future of those three and Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman would&#8217;ve dominated local headlines. Jokic&#8217;s commitment to the franchise is essentially a foregone conclusion, as he&#8217;s cut from the cloth of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/duncati01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tim Duncan<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nowitdi01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dirk Nowitzki<\/a>. However, sensationalists would hardly hesitate <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/04\/08\/los-angeles-lakers-nikola-jokic\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">to drum up storylines<\/a> about his possible interest in the Los Angeles Lakers post-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>What Does Fate Have In Store?<\/h3>\n<p>Honestly, if the Nuggets are bounced in the First Round, pandemonium may be inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>Clippers veteran stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/h\/hardeja01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">James Harden<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/l\/leonaka01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kawhi Leonard<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>With that being said, Gordon did change the team&#8217;s fortunes in Game 4. The question is whether that&#8217;s all he changed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"modal-image-setImageMetadata\">\n<p class=\"ng-binding\">\u00a9 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As brilliant as Nikola Jokic&#8216;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&#8217;s slipped the ball into the rim as if he caught an alley-oop rather than a 3 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":136499,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,1608,27,62,3],"tags":[472,596,72],"class_list":["post-136478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nuggets","category-basketball","category-clippers","category-nba","category-news","tag-aaron-gordon","tag-nba-playoffs","tag-nikola-jokic"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136478"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136500,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136478\/revisions\/136500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}