INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Aaron Gordon hit a mistake by Nicola Jokic to tie the Playoffs Series 2-2 as time ran out to lift the Denver Nuggets on Saturday on Los Angeles Clippers 101-99.
A video review confirmed that the ball left Gordon’s hand on the rim just before the buzzer rang out after the Nugget blew through the 22-point lead.
Jokic scored 36 points, 21 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Nuggets.
Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Brown each scored 17 points.
Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points for the Clippers.
Norman Powell added 22 points, while Ivica Zubac received 19 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.
Nuggets split the two games with a new Intuit dome.
Game 5 is Monday in Denver.
A skirmish between the teams near the end of the first half led to six technical fouls, including Jokic.
The Clippers took their first lead in the game, 97-96 with Bogdan Bogdanovic’s offensive rebounds and basketball.
Jokic’s free throw and basketball put Denver back in front of 99-97 before Zubac tied it up.
Jokic’s three-point attempt from the right side sped out long on the basket, but Gordon slams it with James Harden thrustling a rebound into his back.
The team remained suspense while the referee reviewed the play.
The Nuggets took the third-place finish to the Clippers 35-19, leading 85-65.
Leonard, Harden and Powell caused the Clippers in fourth when they beat Denver 34-16.
Jokic, along with Gordon and Braun, received the midcourt brawl skills with 6.6 seconds left.
Clippers’ Harden, Powell and Chris Dunn offset the foul after the referee decided that a closed fist punch could not be thrown.
The conflict riled Clippers fans and chanted, “Abandoning him!” At Gordon, it wasn’t very useful to the home team.
Los Angeles struggled offensively, chasing most of the game, shooting 39 out of 88 and 10 out of 30 out of 30 out of 30, while shooting from 3 points range.
The Nuggets were led by two at halftime before opening the third game.
They surpassed the Clippers 35-17 and advanced to fourth at 85-65.
Jokic hit 14 points and Nuggets hit 5 3-pointers for one of the Clippers.
Russell Westbrook of Denver was sitting with inflammation of his left leg.
