In one of the most stunning endings in an NBA Playoff game in recent memory, the Denver Nuggets came away with a shocking come-from-behind 121-119 victory in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night.
Many believe that the Thunder shot themselves in the foot late in the contest by deliberately fouling Denver despite being ahead. Up by three points with 10.1 seconds remaining in regulation, Alex Caruso intentionally fouled Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon in the backcourt while Oklahoma City was in the penalty and sitting on a three-point advantage.
Gordon sank both freebies to cut the Thunder’s lead to only a point. Thunder big man Chet Holmgren was later fouled on the other side of the court with 9.1 ticks left in the fourth period. Unfortunately for Oklahoma City, Holmgren missed both shots, which gave the Nuggets a chance to win the game with a bucket, which they did when Gordon nailed a 3-point shot to give Denver the win.
Although many blamed the Thunder’s fouling strategy and Holmgren’s missed free throws for the team’s loss, Caruso would rather believe that what happened before the frenetic final moments spelled Oklahoma City’s doom.
“Caruso mentions that the five minutes before the final sequence (Chet’s FTs, Gordon’s 3) are probably what lost them the game,” reported Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman.
However, Caruso, who scored 20 points in Game 1, also said that “We gave them [Nuggets] a couple FTs where they didn’t have to earn it.”
In the final six minutes of the contest, the Nuggets outscored Oklahoma City, 21-11, while also going 11-for-14 from the foul line. Conversely, the Thunder were just 2-for-4 from the charity stripe during that same stretch.
Meanwhile, head coach Mark Daigneault provided an insight into the Thunder’s decision to use their fouls down the stretch, a plan that obviously backfired.
“It didn’t go our way tonight, but it’s worked out well for us in the past,” Daigneault said after the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “We’ll continue to look at it and learn from it, but I don’t think that’s why we lost the game.”
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