Aaron Gordon delivered a dramatic buzzer-beater dunk to lift the Denver Nuggets to a 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series in Inglewood, California.
After Nikola Jokic airballed a 3-pointer in the final seconds, Gordon leaped, caught the ball mid-air, and dunked just before the red light appeared. A replay review confirmed the basket, tying the best-of-seven Western Conference series at 2-2.
“You could say it was a lucky play but Aaron is a big athletic man,” Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “He met the ball early. I couldn’t tell if it was good or not. I was preparing for overtime. … That’s going to be on NBA TV someday and I’m glad we won the game. I’m glad it will be on Nuggets Day and not Clippers Day.”
Jokic starred with 36 points, 21 rebounds, and eight assists, helping Denver bounce back after a blowout loss in Game 3. Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun added 17 points each, while Gordon finished with 14 points.
Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers with 24 points and nine rebounds, Norman Powell scored 22, and Ivica Zubac contributed 19 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists. James Harden chipped in 15 points and 11 assists.
“This was really big for us,” Gordon said. “We did what we came here to do and that was get homecourt advantage back.”
The Nuggets built a 22-point lead early in the fourth quarter before the Clippers stormed back with a 32-9 run, taking their first lead with just over a minute remaining.
“We picked up our intensity and were being more aggressive,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “… We kind of got them off-guard and surprised them and took advantage of that. The fourth quarter is when we really executed and did what we were supposed to do.”
Powell hit back-to-back 3-pointers, and Bogdan Bogdanovic’s putback put the Clippers briefly ahead. Jokic answered with a turnaround jumper for Denver before Zubac’s tip-in tied it with eight seconds left.
“It was tough,” Leonard said. “I’m glad we fought. We didn’t lay down. We rallied back. This is the NBA. They made a great play.”
The Nuggets shot 46 percent from the field and matched the Clippers’ 10-of-30 mark from 3-point range. Denver outscored Los Angeles 35-17 in the third quarter to build their big lead.
Game 5 is set for Tuesday in Denver.