Nikola Jokić’s awesome buzzer-beater caps Nuggets comeback

We can’t say that Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets don’t have a flair for the dramatic.

For much of the second half, Thursday night’s game against the Golden State Warriors looked like it would be a fairly convincing defeat for the Nuggets. Denver trailed 107-94 after three quarters and 123-105 after Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins made a basket with 6:51 remaining. From there, it was all Nuggets.

Denver rallied to tie the game in the final seconds. With 3.6 seconds left, Aaron Gordon inbounded the ball to Jokić. The two-time league MVP dribbled against Kevon Looney and pulled up for a deep three. While it was a long shot, Jokić had a clean look at it. His shot was on target and rattled around the rim before dropping to give the Nuggets a dramatic 130-127 win.

The near midcourt buzzer-beater got NBA fans buzzing.

Jokić even had fun talking about the shot. When TNT’s Charles Barkley asked him if he called glass on the final shot, he replied “My friend, it went in. I’m happy.”

That shot was not only set up by a great comeback but also a tremendous defensive play from Jamal Murray. With the score tied at 127, the Warriors had the ball in Steph Curry’s hands for what appeared to be the final shot in regulation. Curry went to his left, then tried a cross-court pass to Wiggins. But before the ball could get to Wiggins, Murray got his hands up, knocking the ball down and eventually securing it for the steal.

[Photo Credit: TNT]