The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 101:99 (27:22, 23:26, 35:17, 16:34) in Game XNUMX of the first round of the NBA playoffs in a dramatic game that was decided by Aaron Gordon's last-minute basket.
The match was full of twists and turns and at one point almost led to a general fight on the court. The nerves only subsided after six technical fouls were called, one of which was given to Serbian center Nikola Jokić.
Denver led from the very beginning, had a two-point lead at halftime, and a 22-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, but managed to squander it all and enter an uncertain finale.
The Clippers only had the lead in the match with one minute and 11 seconds left, 97:96, on a point from Bogdan Bogdanović.
However, after the next three points by Jokić and two crosses by the home team's Ivica Zubac, Denver decided the fate of the match on its own, with the last attack with eight seconds left, with the score tied at 99:99.
Jokić took charge, held the ball for 1,5 seconds, then attempted a three-pointer over Croatian center Zubac. Although he missed the entire rim, Gordon caught the ball in mid-air and dunked it as the siren sounded, signaling the end of the game.
Video analysis showed that Gordon "let" the ball out of his hands in the last tenth, so the basket was recognized, and the victory went to the Nuggets, who tied the series at 2:2.
Jokić led his team to victory with 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists, and was helped by Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Brown with 17 points each.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard was the most efficient with 24 points, Norman Powell scored 22, and Ivica Zubac had 19, along with 12 rebounds and six assists.
The fifth game of the series is played on Monday in Denver.
The winner of the series will play against Oklahoma, which eliminated Memphis 4-0.
Oklahoma City advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs after defeating Memphis 117-115 on the road. Oklahoma City led the series 4-0.
Shay Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City to victory with 38 points, six assists and five rebounds, followed by Jaylen Williams with 23 points.
For Memphis, Scottie Pippen Jr. was better than the others with 30 points and 11 rebounds.
Memphis played without its best player, Ja Morant, who was injured by Lou Dort during the Grizzlies' 29-point lead in the previous game.
Warriors star Jimmy Butler was also injured by a brutal start from Houston basketball player Amen Thompson, but Steph Curry brought the victory to Golden State - thanks to Steph Curry, they defeated the Houston Rockets 104:93 and took a 2:1 lead in the NBA playoff series.
Curry played with Houston, orchestrated a turnaround, and then an important series-leading victory.
Curry scored 36 points, with five three-pointers and 13/23 shooting from the field. He added nine assists and seven rebounds.
In the East, Cleveland's basketball players took a 3-0 lead in victories against Miami in the first round of the American Professional Basketball League (NBA) playoffs, after they celebrated 124:87 on the away court.
It's Miami's most convincing playoff loss in franchise history.
Cleveland was led to victory by Jarrett Allen with 22, DeAndre Hunter with 21, Evan Mobley with 19 and Max Strus with 18 points.
Miami's best player was Bem Adebayo with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Serbian international Nikola Jović recorded three points, three rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes spent on the court.
The series is played to four wins, and the next match is on Monday and the host is Miami again.
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