The Los Angeles Clippers nearly pulled off the most stunning comeback of these playoffs in Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets, only to lose in heartbreaking fashion. Aaron Gordon shocked the basketball world by catching an errant Nikola Jokic shot and dunking at the buzzer to give the Nuggets a 101-99 win. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue was asked about the play postgame and lamented their failure to box out.
“Things we’ve been talking about for five years, offensive rebounds,” Lue said. “You get beat on offensive rebound, but Joker shot an airball, weren’t really expecting that. [Christian] Braun cut to the middle of the floor, and James [Harden] and [Norman Powell] was kind of in between trying to check with him, and Gordon made a hell of a play. So, it is what it is.”
Here is the final play in case you missed it.
AARON GORDON WITH THE WILDEST BUZZER BEATER EVER 🚨
NUGGETS WIN pic.twitter.com/2UjLl2rUrF
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 27, 2025
As Lue pointed out, James Harden and Norman Powell were more focused on checking Christian Braun, which allowed Gordon a free run at the basket to slam it in. This was about as brutal a way to lose a game as possible.
Lue felt the Clippers executed well down the stretch, except for their failure to box out here. They were indeed nearly faultless in the fourth quarter.
This game seemed over when the Nuggets won the third quarter 35-17 to take an 85-65 lead into the fourth. Jokic then pushed the lead to 22 points early in the period, but it was all Clippers from then on. A 13-2 run put them back within striking distance, and Bojan Bogdanovic gave them a 97-96 lead with just over a minute remaining.
It looked like the Clippers were about to take total control of this series by going up 3-1, but it wasn’t to be. They can take heart from how well they fought, and that’s what Kawhi Leonard wanted to focus on postgame when asked about that incredible finish.
“It was tough, but I’m glad we fought,” Leonard said. “We didn’t lay down. I think [down] 20 in that fourth quarter, to be able to keep fighting and rally back. It’s the NBA, they made a great great play.”
Leonard was a big reason why the Clippers dominated in the fourth quarter, as he had 10 points in the period. The six-time All-Star finished with 24 points (10-22 FG), nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals in this loss to the Nuggets.
This Clippers-Nuggets series has easily been the best of this first round, with three of the four games going down to the wire. The Clippers have lost two of those three, and Leonard was asked if it was hard not to think about the fact that they easily could have been up 3-1 instead of being tied at 2-2.
“Nah, not for me,” Leonard said. “Like I’ve been saying, I’m happy to be out there and play. It’s still a series, best-of-three, and we’ll see what happens.”
This is best-of-three now, with the Nuggets having the advantage of playing two of the games at home. You’d have to make them the favorites for that reason, but the Clippers easily could have won each of the first two games in Denver. They’d be fancying their chances of winning Game 5, which will be at Ball Arena on Tuesday at 10 PM ET.
