An unbelievable Aaron Gordon slam dunk beat the buzzer by less than one-tenth of a second to give the Denver Nuggets a 101-99 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 4 of their playoff series.
According to the NBA, Gordon's slam was the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk in the playoffs since the detailed play-by-play era began in 1997-98.
AARON. GORDON. FOR. THE. WIN. pic.twitter.com/jinNM1QrNt
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 27, 2025
Gordon flushed an airballed, fadeaway three-point attempt by Nikola Jokic in the final seconds.
The Nuggets took possession with 8 seconds on the clock after an Ivica Zubac tip-in tied the game at 99. A dramatic replay review spanned several minutes to determine Gordon released the ball before the buzzer sounded.
With Gordon’s heroics, Denver survived a ferocious Clippers comeback bid. The Nuggets led by as much as 22 points in the fourth quarter but surrendered the lead, at one point trailing in the game’s final minute.
Denver had outscored LA by 18 points in the third quarter to build a 20-point lead at the start of the final period. Jokic scored 16 points in the third and the Clippers scored 17 as a team.
Jokic finished with 36 points, 21 rebounds and 8 assists in the game. All five Nuggets starters ended in double figures.
It had been a 50-48 Denver lead at halftime after a tightly contested first half that ended with a midcourt skirmish that yielded three technical fouls per team. A shoving match broke out following a Christian Braun reach-in foul on James Harden.
When Denver took an 87-65 lead early in the fourth, ESPN gave them a 99.8% chance to win the game before LA mounted its wild comeback.