Led by ‘Mr. Nugget,’ Denver shows it won’t go down quietly against the Thunder

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OKLAHOMA CITY — The game-winning play that turned the NBA world on its ear Monday night required a sequence of events by Aaron Gordon that would have resulted in a Denver Nuggets loss had just one gone awry.

Gordon boxed out Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso — not a small feat, because Caruso had been a menace to Denver on the offensive boards all night. Gordon had the presence of mind to run the left side of the floor when Nuggets guard Christian Braun secured the most important rebound of the game, a Chet Holmgren missed free throw. Gordon stayed in Russell Westbrook’s line of sight, as Westbrook took Braun’s kick-ahead pass and dribbled toward the lane. Gordon launched the perfect jumper that allowed Denver to steal Game 1 from the Thunder.

“When I shot it, I knew it wasn’t a miss,” Gordon said with a wry laugh.

Gordon reversed momentum in the first-round series against the LA Clippers with a buzzer-beating Game 4 dunk. Denver’s power forward did it again Monday night, as his 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining gave the Nuggets a 121-119 win against top-seeded OKC. The shot sent a rocking Paycom Center into an eerie silence. The shot sent the Nuggets into a midcourt celebration of a game they truthfully had no business winning. The shot announced Denver’s arrival in a series almost nobody thinks it has a chance of winning.

Two nights before, Denver completed a grueling seven games against the Clippers at Ball Arena. On Sunday, those same Nuggets boarded a plane to Oklahoma City to face a 68-win team that swept its first-round series against the Memphis Grizzlies and had been chilling at home for a week. The Nuggets had been playing every other day and then traveling on the off day for almost a week. There’s no way Denver was supposed to have the legs and the energy to walk into the Thunder’s building and walk out with a 1-0 series lead.

But Gordon has been making big shots and big plays for the Nuggets all season. Even before the game-winning 3-pointer, Gordon stepped to the free-throw line and hit two big shots to draw Denver within 119-118. His journey to these moments has been remarkable. He began his career on a star-level trajectory with the Orlando Magic. But when he was traded to the Nuggets in 2021, he willingly became a role player. In doing so, he’s become the heart of Denver’s roster.

“He’s my very good friend,” Nuggets star Nikola Jokić said. “So I am very happy for him. He does so many good things for the team on and off the floor. He’s one of our most important players.”

What Gordon does for the Nuggets can’t always be measured. He’s their most functionally athletic player. He’s a terrific ballhandler and passer for his size (6-foot-8, 240 pounds), which allows him to be a connector for the Nuggets offensively. He is arguably the best cutter on the team, particularly on the baseline, and that allows Jokić to find him for lobs when he gets into the lane off the dribble. He is a terrific and versatile defender. Against the Clippers, he prevented Kawhi Leonard from taking over the series. And on Monday night, he held Thunder star Jalen Williams to 5-of-19 from the field for 16 points. His length and athleticism allow him to post up in the paint and punish teams for switching smaller defenders onto him.

His value off the court is absolute. For years, Gordon’s ability to galvanize Denver’s locker room has been revered among his teammates. He’s been known to pop in and visit Jokić in Serbia during the offseason. His nickname, Mr. Nugget, is well-earned. In moments like Monday night, Gordon is one of the most popular sports figures in Denver.

“Aaron is the soul of our team,” Denver interim coach David Adelman said. “He is a Denver Nugget, man. He’s a hero again. But I’m looking at the 14 rebounds. I’m looking at the 22 points. I’m looking at the two free throws he made before the 3-pointer. I’m looking at the defense he played and the leadership he showed. It’s just really cool to see him have two moments that nobody will ever forget.”

Game 1 had to serve as an eye-opener of sorts for the Nuggets. For seven games, Denver watched as Jokić battled and struggled in spurts against the Clippers and the individual defense of Ivica Zubac. On Monday, Jokić had no such struggles. He scored 42 points and grabbed 22 rebounds. He did turn the ball over seven times against the cat-quick Thunder defense. But in general, Jokić got to any spot, any time he wanted to.

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It says a lot about the Nuggets as a whole that they got out of the Clippers series without Jokić taking over. If Monday night is an indicator, Jokić can take over this Western Conference semifinal, and that could mitigate Denver’s lack of depth against an opponent that’s rich in it.

The Nuggets trailed from the first quarter until Gordon’s game-winner. At times, it looked like the Thunder, which held a double-digit lead for much of the way, were going to blow the game open. But the Nuggets kept coming up with a response. The lead would go from 13 to eight, from 11 to six. OKC kept re-establishing the advantage, and the Nuggets kept going on runs to stay in contact.

And with every passing possession, the Nuggets became a more confident group.

“These playoff games are so long,” Adelman said. “We knew that if we kept playing and kept doing the right things that we would go on a run. We just wanted to continue to give ourselves a chance. We could have packed it in, and we could have said that we can come back and try to even the series on Wednesday in Game 2. No. Our moment is now. Our mentality was consistent. I never felt anybody wavered, even when OKC jumped on us.”

It’s the same resilience these Nuggets have played with for the better part of the past month. The advantage Denver had when Game 1 got close is that it has been playing close games almost out of habit. One could feel the arena tense up when the Nuggets drew within 115-111. That air took on a full panic when Jokić hit a 3-pointer to pull Denver within 115-114.

OKC made a significant error with a three-point lead and 10.1 seconds left when it fouled Gordon as part of a strategy to not allow the game-tying shot. Adelman had substituted for Jokić on the defensive end and, without a timeout, could not get his star back into the game. The Thunder should have allowed the Nuggets to play that last possession without fouling. You make Denver tie the game without its best player on the floor.

Instead, the Thunder fouled, and it set up Gordon’s heroics. Oklahoma City is still the favorite to win this series. The Nuggets are still a significant underdog. But Monday night showed the Nuggets actually have a basketball advantage in this matchup. They also have a roster that believes it can win this series, and beyond.

“We have to not be satisfied,” Denver forward Peyton Watson said. “We know how dangerous they are as a team.”

(Photo of Aaron Gordon and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)

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