Jokić Shines as Nuggets Beat Thunder with Late Comeback

Nikola Jokić scored 42 points and grabbed 22 rebounds, while Aaron Gordon hit a late three-pointer to give the Denver Nuggets a dramatic 121-119 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.

The Thunder, who had no timeouts left, missed a last-second shot as Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final ended in defeat.

Denver’s Russell Westbrook, playing his first playoff game in Oklahoma City as an opponent, passed to Gordon for the winning shot. Westbrook began his NBA career with the Thunder.

Gordon ended the night with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Jamal Murray added 21 points for the Nuggets, who are the fourth seed. They had just finished a tough seven-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.

Denver got their chance after Thunder’s Chet Holmgren missed two free throws while his team was one point ahead.

“When I shot it, did I know it was in?” Gordon said. “I knew it wasn’t a miss.” Gordon had also scored a buzzer-beater dunk in the previous series against the Clippers.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. Alex Caruso added 20 points, six assists, and five steals. The Thunder were playing their first game in over a week after sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Jokić ran into foul trouble in the third quarter, picking up three fouls in two minutes after having just one in the first half. He stayed on the court with the Thunder ahead 73-64. The Nuggets fought back and trailed only 90-85 by the end of the third quarter.

Later, with the Thunder up 104-95 and less than seven minutes to go, Jokić caught Lu Dort in the head with his elbow during a drive. After a review, it was called a flagrant foul. It was Jokić’s fifth foul, and Dort made both free throws.

Still, Denver kept fighting and managed to turn the game around.