Aaron Gordon shocked the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night, slamming home a buzzer-beating dunk off a Nikola Jokic airball to pull the Denver Nuggets to 2-2 in the first-round playoff series. It was a shocking, exciting play that reminded fans how much fun the drama of the postseason can be. It was also history.
Per ESPN, Gordon’s game-winner was the first buzzer-beating, game-winning dunk in NBA playoff history.
AARON GORDON DUNK AT THE BUZZER FOR THE NUGGETS WIN!!! 🚨🚨
ONE OF THE CRAZIER ENDINGS YOU’LL SEE 🤯😱#TissotBuzzerBeater#YourTimeDefinesYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/BVdHdAEP1Q
— NBA (@NBA) April 27, 2025
For those of you who remember Deandre Ayton winning a Western Conference playoff game against these same Clippers in a very similar fashion: his was not a true buzzer-beater. Ayton slammed home an alley-oop in the 2021 playoffs to give the Phoenix Suns a lead, but there was 0.7 seconds left on the clock afterwards.
Gordon truly stands alone in basketball history with arguably the coolest buzzer-beater and/or game-winner in sports: the buzzer-beating, game-winning dunk. What a game.
