Watch: Aaron Gordon's monster dunk ruins Phoenix's Christmas
Aaron Gordon never won a dunk contest. He'll have to settle with the NBA's greatest Christmas posterization.
With Denver clinging to a 124-123 lead in overtime, Gordon grabbed a rebound and took it downcourt for a massive dunk.
Gordon took off and dunked over and through the Suns' Landry Shamet. The referees originally called an offensive foul on Gordon, which would have given the Suns possession of the ball down just a point. Instead, it was a foul on Shamet, free throws for Gordon, and a chance to give Denver a two-possession lead.
Gordon did it the hard way. He missed the and-one, but rebounded his own miss and got fouled again. He missed another free throw but sunk the second for a four-point Nuggets lead. Denver held on to win 128-125.
The jam was an early candidate for Dunk of the Year and might be even more impressive from the baseline angle.
Honestly, why not watch it from every angle?
ESPN's Beth Mowins said Gordon dunked on "the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future," while Richard Jefferson speculated that Gordon could return to the dunk contest, where he's lost three times and been robbed of a victory twice. He's scored eight perfect dunks, the most in history. However, there's one scenario where he might return to the dunk arena.
With Gordon averaging 17.1 points and shooting 61 percent for the first-place Nuggets, he certainly could make his first All-Star team. In tonight's big win, he had 28 points, 13 assists, a block, and a steal.
Until then, he'll have to settle for winning a huge Christmas game. And no judge can take that away from him.
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