On Monday, the Denver Nuggets secured Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals after a 121-119 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thanks to the heroics of Aaron Gordon, who shot a game-winning 3-pointer to seal the win for the Nuggets. Thunder center Chet Holmgren missed the late-game free throw, and the ball landed in Christian Braun’s hands, who passed it to Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook pushed the pace, which led to an open Gordon, who was in ht perfect position to knock down the eventual game-winning shot. The forward’s shot left 2.8 seconds on the clock, which wasn’t enough time for Oklahoma City since they didn’t have timeouts left. Jalen Williams tried a last-second shot from beyond half court, which fell short.
AARON GORDON 3 FOR THE WIN!!!@nuggets take Game 1 in a THRILLER 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fxV2ReRPZA
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2025
Gordon finished the game with 22 points and 14 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from beyond the arc, The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic, who had an imposing performance with 42 points, 22 rebounds and six assists. Jokic did everything he could to lead the Nuggets, and it paid off, thanks to his frontcourt mate.
After the game, former NBA player Kendrick Perkins was energized by how the Nuggets secured the victory. Perkins showed his reaction to his followers on X (formerly Twitter).
“Oh s**t!!! What a game. Another game winner for Gordon and great find by Russ. Another Legendary performance from Jokic. This postseason has been one of the best I’ve seen in the last 5 years and we still got more to go. Good night and Carry the hell on…” Perk posted on the social media platform.
Oh sh$t!!! What a game. Another game winner for Gordon and great find by Russ. Another Legendary performance from Jokic. This postseason has been one of the best I’ve seen in the last 5 years and we still got more to go. Good night and Carry the hell on…
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 6, 2025
The Thunder will try to protect their home court on Wednesday for Game 2 and outperform Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. Aaron Gordon has been a reliable player for the Nuggets, averaging 18.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in the postseason.
Denver Nuggets big man gets praise from Charles Barkley
Jokic continues his impressive performance in the postseason. With his 40-point and 22-rebound outing in Game 1, former NBA star Charles Barkley had high praise for what the Denver Nuggets star has done.
“As long as they got that dude, they going to believe,” Barkley said.
“He is taking control of that team. You’ve seen him be more animated and emotional. It’s all happening in the last month. We’ve been covering this team for years and the Joker, he don’t ever show emotion.”
"He is taking control of that team" 😤
Joker's leadership in Denver has Chuck impressed pic.twitter.com/Frxni2kZho
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 6, 2025
In the postseason, Jokic has averaged 24.0 points, 11.6 rebounds and 10.1 assists. Although he didn’t post a triple-double in Game 1, it was still an important outing for Jokic to set the tone for the rest of the series.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
