OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Denver Nuggets traded for Aaron Gordon during the 2021 season they did so because they believed his burly brand of rebounding, scoring from the post and powerful dunks would be a perfect complement to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. He could shoot a little from behind the 3-point arc, but that wasn’t something he was known for.
But a few years ago he moved into a gym and started working on his outside shot at all hours of the day and night. So much so that by Monday night, when Russell Westbrook found him on the wing with less than 4 seconds left for what ended up as his second winning shot of these playoffs, Gordon was confident the ball was going in as soon as it left his hands.
“When I shot it, did I know it was in?” Gordon mused after the Nuggets’ 121-119 win over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal series. “I knew it wasn’t a miss.”
Gordon smiled as he delivered the line. He was flanked at the podium by his nephews, Zayne and Brody.
This star turn is not a position Gordon normally finds himself in, or one that he particularly relishes. But he has found himself in that spotlight twice already this postseason after hitting winning shots.
Just 10 days ago, on April 26, Gordon caught an airball from Jokic and dunked in the first buzzer-beating game winner in playoff history in Game 4 of the Nuggets’ first-round series against the LA Clippers.
Monday night, he did his damage from behind the 3-point arc to complete a stunning 14-point comeback for the fourth-seeded Nuggets at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
“He lives in a gym, literally,” Nuggets forward Christian Braun said of the warehouse that Gordon has converted into his home in Denver, complete with a half court and basket that he shoots on when he can’t sleep at night or wakes up early in the mornings.
“When you can roll out of bed and go to your gym shoot, that helps a little bit.”
Indeed, Gordon shot a career-high 43.6% from behind the 3-point line this season, a huge jump from his career percentage of 33.1.
“He is the soul of this team,” Jokic said. “He probably doesn’t get as much respect as he deserves. But I think he doesn’t need it.”
On any other night, Jokic and his 42 points and 22 rebounds would be the headline of this Nuggets win. He was plagued by foul trouble all game, dogged by the Thunder’s rugged frontline of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein, and able to rest for only six minutes of the ultra-physical game. But as he has so many times throughout his illustrious career, Jokic simply would not let Denver give in.
He scored 18 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets kept chipping away at the Thunder’s double-digit lead. He hit 10 of 13 free throws, including two big ones with 12.2 seconds remaining as Denver closed the game on a 15-4 run and came back from a nine-point deficit over the final three minutes. The Nuggets became the first team to do that since 2015.
“We’ve been through a lot with this group,” Gordon said. “We’ve come from behind in plenty of games. It’s not necessarily what we’re trying to do, or what we want to do. But we know we’ve been in that position. … We have a lot of poise in this group. A lot of grit.”
