Aaron Gordon replacement goes from goat to hero with incredible game-saving play

The Nuggets earned their best win of the season on Wednesday night in an early season measuring-stick game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC trounced Denver on opening night and came into this game with an undefeated record, looking like the clear-cut class of the Western Conference.

Denver on the other hand had looked underwhelming in their first seven games, eking out wins against bottom-feeders while most of the players outside of Nikola Jokic struggled. To make matters worse, Jamal Murray missed his third straight game with a concussion and Aaron Gordon is out multiple weeks with a calf strain.

This had the potential to turn ugly as the Thunder have looked like a well-oiled machine early in the season, but it turned out to be a much-needed statement win for the Nuggets, 124-122. Jokic was incredible with his fourth triple-double of the young season, putting up 23 points, 20 rebounds, and 16 assists.

Russell Westbrook had the best game of his Nuggets career, starting and chipping in 29 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds on 10/15 shooting and 3/4 from three. His energy also helped fuel a huge third-quarter run that helped the Nuggets erase a 16-point deficit.

Christian Braun had another great start with 24 points and 8 rebounds, including shooting 4/8 on three-pointers. And Michael Porter Jr. had a big shooting night, hitting 6/10 of his three-point attempts and finishing with 24 points.

Peyton Watson blocks SGA at the buzzer to win game of the year

But the final moments of this game came down to the man who is tasked with replacing Aaron Gordon in the starting lineup, Peyton Watson. Watson had a solid, but pretty quiet game until the final seconds of the 4th quarter. 

With 16 seconds left and the Nuggets leading by two, Watson received an outlet pass from Jokic and was intentionally fouled immediately. He stepped to the line and promptly missed two clutch free throws that could have essentially sealed the game.

Rather than dwelling on the misses, Watson bounced back on the other end and came flying out of the air from the weak side to meet Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s would-be game-winning layup at its summit and send it back. It was a remarkably athletic block by Watson to clinch a massive victory for the Nuggets.

This game had a playoff feel, and you could tell both sides wanted it badly. It’s great to see the Nuggets rise to the occasion and complete this big comeback against one of the NBA’s elite. Denver still has weaknesses and is far from a perfect team or a finished product. But a game like this could be a turning point for their season and at the very least, should greatly calm the nerves of anxious fans.