The Nuggets somehow pulled magic out of weary legs and heaving chests Monday night, outlasting a well-rested Oklahoma City juggernaut just two days after a seven-game slog against the Clippers. Here are three key takeaways from a thrilling Denver Game 1 win.
The Legend of Mr. Nugget grows: The guy, as Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman said, is taking a chance every time he merely jumps.
Through a nagging calf injury, the even-keeled Gordon was a raucous hero of the Nuggets’ first-round ouster of the Los Angeles Clippers, authoring the highest-scoring series of his playoff career and giving Denver a Game 4 win on a buzzer-beating slam. And on Monday night, he took another sweeping bow as Oklahoma City’s home crowd fell stunned, at the tail end of a 14-point second-half comeback.
Gordon hustled his way to 14 rebounds, muscling through the air and lying flat on hardwood. He put 7-foot-1 Chet Holmgren on a picture-perfect poster, elevating so high over Holmgren’s arms he threw the ball through cylinder. And when push came to shove again, a pass from Russell Westbrook found him nestled in the corner with seconds remaining and the Nuggets down by one. Gordon let fly and found twine — and another shred of a Denver franchise history that simply can’t be told without him.
The Caruso Game: In another world, perhaps, the Thunder retained Josh Giddey this offseason and got the optimized Chicago Bulls-era version of him to follow, the dude who shot 38% from three and could actually make teams pay for leaving him. In the real world, however, the Thunder jettisoned the No. 6 overall pick back in 2021 for Alex Caruso, a guard who’s averaged 6.9 points per game in his NBA career.
And it worked wonders.
In Game 1, Caruso made OKC general manager Sam Presti look like a genius. He bumped down on Nikola Jokic in the post and zipped into passing lanes like his hair was on fire — well, if he had any — en route to a plus-17 in 10 minutes before the break. And he made Denver pay for giving him the same let-it-fly treatment they gave Clippers pest Kris Dunn, nailing five of his nine 3s.
Caruso finished with 20 points, six assists, five steals and two blocks, but his contributions couldn’t save Oklahoma City from Gordon’s heroics.
Jokic wins Round 5 of the MVP duel: The man who’s become synonymous with the phrase aura strolled down Oklahoma City’s tunnel pregame, baggy ripped jeans and a designer vest hugging his frame, a fittingly runway-style entrance for one Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
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Aaron Gordon risking his calf ‘every time he explodes and jumps,’ David Adelman says Nuggets vs. Thunder scouting report: Matchups, how to watch and series predictions Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder playoff series schedule: Game times, TV Russell Westbrook’s fiery Game 7 caps ultimate revenge series: “He runs at 250 degrees” Nuggets’ Christian Braun finds Game 7 vindication after Timberwolves disappointmentHis competition for the Most Valuable Player Award, meanwhile, wore a plain white tee tucked into his pants, and the metaphor for the Gilgeous-Alexander-Nikola Jokic matchup spoke for itself.
“Very different player,” Jokic said on Saturday night.
And as the two best players of 2024-25 took to the ring again Monday night, Jokic largely threw the loudest punches in an all-out effort where he barked at teammates in the huddle, barked at referees and climbed Oklahoma City trees en route to a stunning 22 boards and 42 points — 18 in the fourth quarter.
Gilgeous-Alexander nearly slammed the door on Jokic and Denver, with 14 of his 33 points in the final frame. But Jokic, braving a matchup zone in which nearly all five Oklahoma City bodies lingered near the paint when he touched the ball, nailed a massive 3-pointer to cut the Thunder’s lead to one with a minute left and buried clutch free throw after clutch free throw down the stretch.
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