CNN
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On Monday evening in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks picked up a shocking road victory in their respective Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics, filling up with many late playoff dramas.
The Nuggets rounded out a 14-point comeback with a game-winning 3-pointer from Aaron Gordon, knocking off the Western Conference No. 1 seed Thunder to win 121-119.
And earlier in the day, the Knicks returned from 20 points to beat the Celtics 108-105 in overtime in the opening game of the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Here’s how the eventful night of NBA playoff action unfolds:
The Thunder rode high from a focused four-game sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies to the Western Conference semi-finals, but the Nuggets entered the series and defeated the Los Angeles Clippers in a fiercely fought contest in need of Game 7.
Thunder is a favorite of many of the NBA titles after finishing with a 68-14 league best record. Denver spent a turbulent season and fired manager Michael Malone before the end of the regular season.
And game one of the series between the two starts like many people expected, lightning controls the procedure and walks the path of things.
The clash between the two teams will allow them to face off between the two front runners for this season’s MVP award.
The pair glowed brightly in Game 1, with Gilgauss Alexander earning 33 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals, while Jokic posted a monster’s stat line of 42 points, 22 rebounds, 6 assists and two blocks.
But ultimately, it was another Nuggets player who made a difference after a controversial decision by Thunder.
After Gilgeous-Alexander dunked to give Thunder a 11-second remaining three-point lead, Oklahoma City decided to foul Gordon without running the clock. The Nuggets converted both free throws to cut the lead in 9.5 seconds with Denver’s Russell Westbrook Foul Center Chet Holmglen remaining.
Holmglen missed both of his attempts, and the Nuggets got Christian Brown grabbed the rebound and handed the ball to Westbrook.
Thunderguard Jalen Williams attempted a ridge from half deep when time ran out, but the ball hit the backboard and bouncing, causing wild celebrations from the Denver team.
The shot in the game from Gordon is the moment he won the second final minute game of this postseason after turning that series into a head in Game 4 with the Clippers.
“We just didn’t want to miss the moment, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity,” Gordon said. “We knew it might be too late if we waited.
The Nuggets will offer a rigorous test of lightning through a combination of Jokic’s size and versatile magic, brewing a compelling series between the two candidates on Wednesday as Game 2 for Oklahoma City.
The Celtics have been a preseason favorite for many people repeating this season after maintaining the core of their 2024 championship winning team, but the Knicks recoeured with title aspirations in the offseason.
And in Game 1 between the two of Monday’s Eastern Conference Semi-Final, what was seasoned on this stage was the reality champion.
Boston will play all of their most important players for the 19th time in 88 games this season – they built a 20-point lead in the second half, but the team lost center Kristapsporgie at halftime due to illness.
They were on the lead, but their normal proficiency has historically failed over the Celtics’ three-point line. Boston set up two undesirable records in Game 1. This was the most 3 pointer attempted in the playoff game, accidentally ignited on 45 attempts from 60-15 (25%).
The Celtics’ reliance on shots from deep allowed New York to return to the game through two star players, Jalen Branson and OG Anunoby.
The pair combined 39 points in the final 23 minutes of the game, sending the game to OT with the Knicks ahead of the Celtics 53-30.
In front of the noisy, hostile TD Garden crowd, the towns of Mikal Bridges and Carl Antony had big buckets in the extra period, allowing the Knicks’ defense to step up to stop the Celtics.
Branson and Anunoby stole Game 1 in Game 2, which was set to Game 2 on Wednesday night, so they finished with 29 points each.
“We just said we just keep believing in each other. We just keep fighting, sticking together, shaving. We didn’t have a 20-point shot,” Branson said.
