Aaron Gordon reacts after beating the Clippers on the road with a game-winner as time expires in Game 4.
LOS ANGELES — A 48-minute game with plenty of drama and big plays and intensity needed three more minutes before it was decided.
That’s when Zach Zarba, the lead official, grabbed the courtside mic and told everyone at the Intuit Dome to drive home safely.
“The game is over,” he said, after watching the video review of the final, and decisive, and improbable, shot in a thrilling Game 4 of the Nuggets-Clippers playoff series.
The next-to-last-shot was the best airball of Nikola Jokić’s career. He took the inbounds pass in a game that was tied, ran off a few precious seconds of the clock while being guarded closely by Ivica Zubac. He chose a frantic fadeaway and the ball fluttered harmlessly as it approached the rim, sailing past the rim. At that moment, overtime was the most likely outcome.
Aaron Gordon had other plans. He crashed the boards, grabbed the ball and dunked. And everyone froze. Did he release the ball a fraction of a second before or after time expired? Nobody knew.
And so, in an uncommon development, a game was not only decided by a point-blank dunk, but required a replay. Both euphoria and disappointment were placed on hold for those three suspenseful extra minutes.
“Well,” said Nuggets coach David Adelman, with some relief, “that was crazy.”
Here are five takeaways from Denver’s 101-99 win and a tightly-contested first-round series — three of the four games have been decided by a combined seven points — that’s predictably tied at two games apiece:
1. Gordon called game
The best Nuggets player in this series not named Jokić is the player who just gave the Nuggets new life. Just days removed from a 34-point Clippers blowout, this was exactly the response and ending the Nuggets needed.
And Gordon’s hustle, energy and heads-up play made it happen.
First, about the Jokić shot: it wasn’t his best.
Gordon came to his teammates’ rescue.
“It was a nice pass.”
“Yes,” Jokić sheepishly agreed.
Really?
“No, no, it wasn’t.”
For Gordon, this was the type of play that has defined his tenure with the Nuggets. He began his career in Orlando and emerged as that team’s scoring leader and first option. Upon arriving in Denver, he accepted a broader role as a designed defender and rebounder who collected buckets in transition while Jokić and Jamal Murray took most of the shots.
In this Game 4, Gordon supplied it all on a single play — blue-collar work, a rebound and, by definition, the biggest shot of the game.
“Gordon made a hell of a play,” said Clippers coach Ty Lue. “It is what it is.”
What an end to this game!
Crazy game winner!
GGz @LAClippers @nuggets— Kyrie🤞🏾 (@KyrieIrving) April 27, 2025
“I was preparing for overtime,” Adelman admitted.
Not Gordon. He rushed off the court after the dunk, followed by a handful of teammates, until he was ordered back to see if the shot stood. Waiting was the hardest part.
“I think they made the right call,” Michael Porter Jr. said with a wink.
2. The first replay mattered, too
This game essentially came down to a pair of replays. The second one determined the legitimacy of a dunk. The first one determined the legitimacy of … a punch?
The Nuggets and Clippers engaged in a scuffle six seconds before halftime after James Harden took exception to a Christian Braun foul that really wasn’t too harsh. Gordon rushed over to his teammate’s defense, and in the process of being pulled in different directions, he connected with Norman Powell’s face with his hand.
The referees watched the replay of the scrum from different angles, typical in these situations. When one of those angles was replayed on the overhead scoreboard, the hand-face connection drew an instant and (predictably) angry howl from inside Intuit Dome. “Kick him out!” came the chant.
Aaron Gordon and James Harden are at the center of a multi-player dustup at midcourt that results in six technical fouls.
Players on both benches waited … and Zarba concluded that no ejections were necessary, just multiple technical fouls. More boos followed. But in this situation, the referees exercised caution and sense. Nothing was ruled intentional. No need to have a playoff game, or series, decided by something that wasn’t egregious.
Had Gordon been ejected, then there would be no second replay at the final buzzer.
3. Clippers’ devastating 4th-quarter D
They trailed by 22 points with 11 minutes left. Then, suddenly, they held the lead with 58 seconds left.
In between those pivotal moments was a frantic rally made possible by strips, steals and stops, courtesy of the Clippers. They unleashed defensive hell on the Nuggets, holding Denver to 16 fourth-quarter points, forcing five turnovers and caused the Nuggets to miss eight of nine 3-pointers in the period.
“How did we blow that lead?” Michael Porter Jr., wondered aloud, shaking his head after the game.
The Clippers used pressure tactics and timely double-teams to make the game suspenseful. This strategy is largely the work of Jeff Van Gundy, the assistant coach assigned to that end of the floor.
“In the fourth quarter, the intensity and energy they had was incredible,” Adelman said.
4. Jokić was too much to handle
Unstoppable, unsolvable. Such was the case yet again for Jokić who — save for the airball — was simply flawless Saturday. Even the airball worked in his favor.
His damage: 36 points, 21 rebounds, eight assists, two steals. It was a demolition the Clippers were powerless to prevent. His signature play was a double spin move and fading bank shot on Zubac that put the Nuggets up three with 16 seconds left.
Even more impressive is his workload. Jokić played 40-plus minutes for the third time in four games. The Nuggets don’t have a choice but to throw so much on his plate. It’s necessary for their playoff survival.
“He’s built for this,” said Adelman.
The Clippers now must beat the Joker at least one more time on his court in order to claim the series. We’ll ultimately see who’s built for what.
5. Porter plays through pain
Moments after the game, with most of his teammates showered and dressed, Porter sat by his locker, still in uniform.
“Who’s going to help me take off this jersey?” he asked a few nearby attendants.
His left shoulder was encased in an ice wrap and he could barely lift his arm. An attendant helped pull the jersey off while Porter winced.
He made it through 42 minutes that undoubtedly felt like a chore. He received some painkiller prior to the game for the shoulder, which he injured late in Game 2 while diving for a loose ball. It hampered him in Game 3 (he scored just seven points), and his status for Saturday was iffy until tipoff.
Porter dressed, scored 17 points, hit four 3-pointers and made the Clippers pay when he was left unguarded.
“It’s still pretty intense,” said Porter, who averaged just eight points over the previous three games. “I’m playing through a lot, but there’s a lot on the line. You’d rather be locked in. I’d rather go through the pain instead of sitting out and watching my teammates go down 3-1.”
And because he suited up, the Nuggets aren’t facing a win-or-else. The series is tied, with the outcome suddenly in question.
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Shaun Powell has covered the NBA for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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