The beauty of basketball is even more beautiful in the NBA playoffs because of how fascinating the unexpected between unforeseen and endless ends, see Aaron Gordon and its wonderful and varied epitic. In the final game of the cat and the mouse with fouls and free throws, it was Oklahola In full countdown to sing victory in this first sending of conference semifinals against the nuggets of Nikola Jokiccon Chet Holmgren About to launch from 4.60 with 119-118 in the electronic with 9 seconds to play and the nuggets without dead times.
But the US version of Victor Wembanyama He went to err both free throws and Denver went out to the counterattack, with the former thunder Russell Westbrook serving a pass to a lonely fat at the corner with time on it. shot, Bingo, Victoria and his companions jumping for him mad, possessed by disbelief of overflowing happiness while the unpleasant disbelief of sadness seized the Thunder and his fans. They had it won and the Nuggets lost with 115-111 in the absence of 1:20 for the end.
All because of Aaron Gordon, that unexpected hero of the contrasts, which one day saves his team with a winning mate on the horn-as was the case of the victory that put the 2-2 before the clippers-and another goes to the rescue from the long distance.
“Open man is always the best play, and Russ (Westbrook) always makes the best play. It was the best shot,” Gordon explained on the foot of the track just seconds later, still surprised or simply paralyzed with ecstasy. Determination to complete a lesson of survival of some nuggets that remembered their essence of champion. The Colorado set was seen behind with income of 10 points or more for much of the game and was 115-106 below in the absence of 2:40 for the end.
The power wing, with 22 points and 14 rebounds, emerged from nowhere to issue a sentence in the fabulous duel between the MVP and the applicant of several between Nikola Jokic y Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, With 42 points, 22 rebounds and 6 assists for the triple MVP and best player in the prevailing world and 33 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists for Shai, which will move the Joker for now on his MVP throne before the blatant media campaign in the United States so that the Serbian does not repeat again.
The Balkan pivot showed why he is also the smartest player in the world. With their contact basketball and their army of prey dogs, the Thunder discovered an unknown unfortunate Jokic, with the Serbian pushing Chet Holmgren in an offensive lack of helplessness and releasing a elbow to Luguentz there that was a flagrant and fifth foul with still 7 minutes to play.
However, the Serbian recovered his composure in time, knowing how to suffer in defense the limit and contributing 18 points in the last quarter. In an action that illustrated its extraordinary serenity when everything seemed almost lost to Denver, with hardly any separation and with the 2.13 of Isaiah Hartenstein In front, Jokic dared to throw a triple that kissed the network and put the Nuggets 115-114 with 1:20 chrono. In order to avoid expulsion, the interior of 30 years had to literally remove when Holmgren went to crush the hoop in what ended up being a failure of the number 2 of the Draft of 2022, a premonition of his fatal final failures.
With Westbrook effervescent before his ex from the bench with 18 points, the triple MVP spoiled a better foul Jamal Murray, with 21 points but a 6/16 in field shots and very intermittent. It will be impossible to win these series if the Canadian does not generate more in terms of effectiveness and game rhythm. His inability to create advantages after a first action at the pick and roll with Jokic and his slowness to make decisions put all the weight on and Serbian.
Lu Dort’s wear work with his persecution took effect in Murray. Oklahoma exhibited his defensive exuberance with both large and small quintetos to counteract Jokic. They failed to stop their offensive production while altering the Nuggets pass game harmony, limited to 18 assists in something not very sustainable in the long term.
But Nuggets will also need the favorites Thunder better answers to Shai. Denver tried to keep Jokic out of the pick and roll assigning smaller defenders to Oklahoma’s men but SGA survival was translated into many cases in triples of Alex Carusounexpected second sword of the Thunder with 20 points and a 5/9 from the perimeter. Aaron Gordon snatched the privilege of an unforeseen hero with a triple that exalts his hard work to improve as a shooter.
Oklahoma has more depth, The best NBA defense And he has dominated with iron fist in the west with his record of 68-14 and welcomed the Grizzlies (4-0), but now he has to prove that he knows how to suffer after having lived comfortable the whole season. When they almost celebrated the victory they took a soup of those who hurt. They are clear favorites. But nuggets have that pride of champion and, however much insisted in the opposite in the United States, Best player in the world.
