Denver Nuggets: 15 greatest playoff moments of all-time

15. Andre Miller’s game-winning layup vs. Warriors

• 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals, Game 1
• April 20, 2013 (Pepsi Center, Denver, CO)
• Denver Nuggets 97, Golden State Warriors 95

2012-13 was the last significant year of note for the Nuggets until this season. Former head coach George Karl navigated a roster full of seemingly role players to a 57-25 record. Denver finished second in the Northwest Division and earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The Nuggets would face an up-and-coming Golden State Warriors team in the first round.

While Golden State stands as the league’s reigning dynasty, it was a different time in the Warriors’ competitive life cycle back in 2013. This was the Warriors’ first trip to the Western Conference Playoffs of the Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson era in Oakland. Mark Jackson was still their coach and Steve Kerr was still calling games for TNT.

It was the first time Golden State had made the playoffs since the 2006-07 “We Believe” Warriors and only its second playoff appearance since the 1993-94 NBA season. In 1994, Don Nelson was coaching Chris Mullin in the back-end of his prime and Chris Webber is his rookie season with the Warriors. To put it bluntly, this was not Golden State as we know the Warriors now.

Still, Denver was expected to put away the No. 6-seeded Warriors in their first-round matchup. While Golden State would eventually shock Denver in six games, the signature moment from this series from the Nuggets came from veteran point guard Andre Miller.

Miller came off the bench as a part of Karl’s nine-man rotation for the Nuggets in that series. He backed up arguably the team’s best player that year in point guard Ty Lawson. While Lawson had a signature Denver playoff moment of his own we will get to in a bit, Miller was everything for the Nuggets in the Game 1 victory over the Warriors.

With the game tied at 95 points apiece and seconds left on the clock, Miller would be matched up on Warriors power forward Draymond Green in an isolation set. He would dribble to his left before cutting to the basket, effectively splitting Green and Warriors center Andrew Bogut with a reverse layup to the right.

Miller would make his clutch basket to give the Nuggets a 97-95 lead with 1.3 seconds remaining. The ball would be in-bounded to Curry, but he didn’t have enough time to gather himself and heave a 3-pointer from three-quarters court. Denver took a 1-0 series lead and had early momentum in the first round.

Denver would need all of Miller’s game-high 28 points to win the series opener versus Golden State. Although the Warriors would win four of the next five games to take Western Conference Quarterfinals, this was still an incredible moment for the Denver faithful. With this being the last playoff appearance for the Nuggets before this spring, this Miller layup remains the last great postseason moment to date for Denver.