Aaron Gordon has played a crucial role in the success of the Denver Nuggets throughout the early rounds of the NBA postseason.
He hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds left on the clock in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals that put the Nuggets ahead and proved to be the difference in a 121-119 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder and took the 1-0 series lead.
‘When I shot it, did I know it was in? I knew it wasn’t a miss,” Gordon said.
Gordon is shooting 44% from three this season after showing improvement from his career average of 33.1% through his 11-year NBA career.
“I’ve worked a lot on my jumper,” Gordon said. “You guys have seen the maturation of it, it’s nice to have it all culminate in a game-winner.”
It wasn’t the first game-winner Gordon had for the Nuggets during the postseason.
The veteran power forward had secured a 101-99 Game 4 victory for Denver with a putback dunk with .01 seconds left on the clock against the L.A. Clippers. Gordon collected a rebound before the clock expired after Nikola Jokić’s 3-pointer fell short of the basket.
According to the NBA, it was the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk in the league’s playoffs in the play-by-play era (since 1998). The dunk helped the Nuggets even the series 2-2.
“He’s the soul of this team,” Jokic said about Gordon. “He’s a glue guy and doesn’t get as much respect as he deserves, but he doesn’t need attention, he knows what he’s doing, and I’m happy for him.”
Gordon earned the admiration of the Denver fan base for all he’s doing off the court. He became a man of the people when he was seen in a video celebrating with fans in the street after winning the NBA championship in 2023.
Gordon also stepped up for his family following the death of his older brother and former professional basketball player, Drew Gordon, who died in a car accident in Oregon in May of 2024.
“It gets greater later, so stick with it,” Aaron said when asked during the press conference what advice he would share with his nephews in the future. “Be a demonstration of resilience.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic take center stage
Jokic and Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander proved why they are among the three NBA MVP finalists with their Game 1 performance.
Jokic produced a double-double with 42 points and 22 rebounds in 42 minutes of play for Denver. Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in 40 minutes for OKC. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is the other finalist for the award.
Several regular-season award winners have been announced in recent days, but a date has not been set for the announcement of the MVP award winner.
When is Game 2 between Nuggets and Thunder?
The Nuggets will host the Thunder on Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. ET at the Paycom Center. The game will air on TNT.