JaVale McGee Saves the Day for Denver Nuggets, Spoils Ben Gordon's Big Night
Ben Gordon scored 45 points last night.
He connected on all nine of his three-point attempts. He was brilliant for the Pistons.
Unfortunately, brilliant doesn't always lead to victory.
In Denver, JaVale McGee gave his new hometown crowd reason to root for him, as he stole the show from Gordon and saved the game for the Nuggets.
With the Nuggets trailing by three with 12.2 seconds remaining, Arron Afflalo hit a layup to cut the Detroit lead to one, and was fouled with a chance to tie the game.
Standing at the line with 5.5 seconds on the clock, Afflalo wasn't able to connect on the free throw, but before anyone could blink, McGee swooped in to dunk the miss through the hoop and give the Nuggets the victory.
It was quick, fluid and furious. It was a play that required replaying. It was fantastic.
It was also McGee's first game in a Nuggets uniform after being traded from Washington last Thursday. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to a city.
About the play, McGee told the Denver Post:
""I didn't think Arron was going to miss the free throw, but if he did I was going in hard and I might be able to get the tip-in or at least a tip-out," McGee said. "I just went hard, pushed (Greg) Monroe under the rim, and it bounced and bounced—I was trying not to goaltend it—and just dunked it."
"
Watch for yourself. "Just dunked it" indeed.
