If the Denver Nuggets didn’t have everyone’s attention heading into round two of the NBA playoffs, they certainly do now. After battling through a seven-game slog against the Clippers, the Nuggets limped out of that series alive and advanced to take on the championship favorites, the Oklahoma City Thunder, in round two.
The Thunder steamrolled through the regular season, winning the Western Conference by 16 games with a 68-14 record. After handily sweeping the Grizzlies in round one, OKC had eight days of rest while they got to watch Denver and LA slug it out for the right to face them.
The Nuggets ultimately prevailed in that series, but they came out of it bruised and battered, exhausted and injured, and facing a very quick turnaround, having just one day off before starting round two on the road in Oklahoma City on Monday night.
This seemed like an impossible spot for a veteran team, short on depth, coming off the high of a Game 7 win, facing a young, hungry, well-rested squad playing in front of one of the best home crowds in the NBA.
Nuggets show heart of a champion with Game 1 win
But the Nuggets showed championship resolve, and instead of throwing in the towel on a game they were never supposed to win, they fought to the bitter end and were finally able to walk down a 14-point lead in the final seconds.
Chet Holmgren missed a pair of free throws with 9.5 seconds left, Christian Braun got the rebounds and outleted the ball to Russell Westbrook, Russ drove and kicked it to Aaron Gordon, and AG buried a game-winning three, delivering a dagger right to the heart of the Thunder.
It was an incredible comeback, and an incredibly unlikely win fueled by the likes of Gordon, Westbrook, and Nikola Jokic, who put up an absurd 42 points and 22 rebounds in the victory.
Nuggets declare themselves as contenders
Even with the win, Denver still has a long way to go to win this series, but they couldn’t have asked for a better start. The Nuggets announced that despite all their obvious roster flaws and shortcomings and the housecleaning by ownership last month, this team’s goal is to win the title.
They certainly showed that they believe in themselves with their performance on Monday night, and to come into OKC and win a game like that, they are going to have a lot more people believing in their status as title contenders.