Aaron Gordon on Monday scored a last-gasp three-pointer and Nikola Jokic produced a 42-point masterpiece as the Denver Nuggets stunned top seeds Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 in a dramatic NBA Western Conference semi-final series opener.
Nuggets forward Gordon drained an effort from outside the arc with four seconds remaining to snatch victory against a Thunder lineup who had led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter at the Paycom Center in Oklahoma City.
The Thunder continued to lead by double digits for much of the fourth quarter, but saw their advantage evaporate after 18 points from Serbian star Jokic in the final frame.
Photo: AP
The towering three-time NBA Most Valuable Player finished with 22 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal in addition to his 42-point tally.
Oklahoma City were left ruing two missed free throws from forward Chet Holmgren with 10 seconds remaining with his team defending a slender 119-118 lead.
Those misses proved costly, with Denver rebounding and launching the final offensive raid that ended with Gordon’s winning three-pointer.
Denver interim coach David Adelman paid tribute to the all-round effectiveness of Gordon, who finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m looking at ball-handling, responsibilities, leadership — he is a Denver Nugget, the soul of our team,” Adelman said. “So cool to see him have a moment like that.”
Gordon said the Nuggets’ calmness under pressure had helped them close out the win.
“A lot of guys stepped up,” he said. “We had poise and a belief that we were going to win no matter the circumstances.”
Gordon and Jokic were backed by 21 points from Jamal Murray and 18 points from Russell Westbrook.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City with 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, with Alex Caruso scoring 20 off the bench after shooting five three-pointers.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series takes place today.
In the Eastern Conference semi-finals, a pulsating battle in Boston saw the New York Knicks dig deep to edge past reigning champions the Celtics 108-105 after Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby scored 29 points apiece for New York.
Brunson — the 40-point hero of New York’s series-clinching win over Detroit last week — was once again in superb form as the Knicks climbed out of a 72-52 hole in the third quarter to snatch Game 1 at the TD Garden.
Brunson’s 29 points included five of nine from three-point range, with Anunoby pouring in six three-pointers in his 29-point haul.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum led Boston’s scoring with 23 points apiece on a miserable shooting night for the Celtics, who missed 45 three-point attempts — the most ever missed threes in a playoff game.
“It was a great team win,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We started well, then we fell into a hole, and then we fought our way out, and then we made tough plays down the stretch.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said lax defense in the second half cost his team dearly.
“We left some of their good shooters open,” Mazzulla said. “There’s detail stuff that we have to be better at.”
Brown, who shot only seven of 20 from the field and made only one of 10 attempted three-pointers, said the Celtics would not get hung up on their wayward shooting night as they prepare for Game 2 in Boston today.
“We had a historic night of missed three-pointers,” Brown said. “We’ll take a look and kind of see what the energy was. In reality you’ve got to have a short-term memory — throw it away and get ready for Game 2. We don’t have time to let stuff carry over.”
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS