Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic React to Buzzer-Beating Dunk vs. Harden, Kawhi, Clippers
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokić was too busy thinking about overtime to get excited in the moment by Aaron Gordon's late-game heroics in a 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Gordon pulled off one of the most stunning buzzer-beaters in recent memory when he slammed home a missed shot by Jokić as time expired.
Jokić was surprisingly subdued on the bench as officials confirmed the bucket was good.
"I didn't want to have excitement and then go down," he told reporters after the game. "So I was just like, 'Keep calm.' Because I didn't know what happened, to be honest. I thought it was close ... really close."
Gordon quipped the three-time MVP made "a nice pass" with the wayward shot attempt.
Gordon beat a hasty retreat immediately after the game ended. He ran off the court and was halfway down the tunnel before returning to see the result of the official review.
"I thought the game was over, so I was just trying to get off the court and into the locker room," he said. "It was so close. When it comes down to it, I'm just happy that we won the game. I thought we showed a lot of heart today."
Some fans immediately thought of Lorenzo Charles lifting North Carolina State to a national championship in 1983 in the exact same circumstances. Jokić also pointed to a 2010 EuroLeague game where Miloš Teodosić and Josh Childress combined to help Olympiacos force overtime against Partizan Belgrade.
Perhaps Gordon's dunk will be a turning point in this series, which is even at two games apiece. The Nuggets nearly squandered a 22-point lead, and going down 3-1 would've been a near-fatal blow to their hopes of advancing.
"We have to figure out a way to win two more games," Jokić said. "I thought we were really good in the first half. When we went into halftime, we told each other that we were close. The momentum we had going into the second half led to the 20-point lead. I'm glad we had that lead."
The teams head back to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday.
