Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
Oklahoma City had the game in their hands. Not only had they withstood a historic night from a three-time MVP, but they were playing in their house in front of ravenous fans and had a lead in the final minutes of a postseason contest.
It’s the type of situation that NBA champion hopefuls take advantage of when the opportunity presents itself.
Unfortunately for the Thunder, that wasn’t enough to overcome missed free throws and a clutch 3-pointer from an unlikely source as Denver pulled out a 121-119 victory at the Paycom Center Monday night in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinal.
“Should be good, should be fun,” Oklahoma City’s Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’re gonna find out what we’re really made of. It’s the game of life. It’s about how you respond to getting knocked down.”
With just over two minutes left in the game, Oklahoma City led 115-109. Denver Nikola Jokic dropped a jumper to close the gap to 115- 111. Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren missed back-to-back shots on the other end before Denver gets control of the loose ball.
With 1:08 on the clock, Jokic buried a 3-pointer at the top of the key to bring the visiting Nuggets to a point deficit.
After a flurry of points, Gilgeous-Alexander scored on a breakaway dunk to put Oklahoma City up 119-116. With just 13 seconds left, the Thunder intentionally fouled Jokic, who went to the charity stripe and knocked down both free throws and got the Nuggets to within one point.
Denver fouled Chet Holmgren with just seven seconds left. He missed both free throws, and Denver’s Christian Braun pushed the ball upcourt to Russell Westbrook.
Playing in the arena where he started his NBA career and had made a plethora of big buckets during his time in a Thunder uniform, Westbrook could have easily tried to be the hero and attempt the game-winner. Instead, he passed to an open Aaron Gordon on the other side of the court
With the 7-foot Holmgren running toward him, Gordon calmly knocked down the walk-off 3-pointer for the dramatic come-from-behind win.
“It really comes down to my teammates, like Russ making a great play and finding me in transitioning and in rhythm, on time, on target,” Gordon said. “So it helps me have a Hall of Fame passer passing to you. But, you know, we just didn’t want to miss a moment. We didn’t want to miss an opportunity.”
Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Williams chipped in with 16 points on 5 of 20 shooting.
Jokic posted 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists to win the battle of the top two MVP candidates. He is only the fourth player to record a 40/20/5 in the playoffs in NBA history.
Along with his game-winner, Gordon was effective throughout the night. He scored 22 points and hauled in 14 boards. Jamal Murray added 21 points in the victory.
Westbrook came off the bench to score 18 points and gently remind the fans of the old days.
“It was loud tonight but it was louder when we were here,” Westbrook said.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday night back in the Paycom Center.
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