Aaron Gordon's winning 3-part drill bit before Game 1

Oklahoma City – When the Denver Nuggets traded Aaron Gordon in the 2021 season, they did so because they believed his burly rebounding brand, scoring from the outpost and a strong dunk would be the perfect addition to Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. He can shoot a little from behind the 3-point arc, but that's not what he's famous.

But a few years ago, he moved into the gym and started working on external shooting for all hours in the day and night. So much so that by Monday night, when Russell Westbrook found his game on the wing on his wing, and from his second winning playoff shot, Gordon was confident, Gordon was confident that the ball would appear when it left his hand.

“When I fired, did I know it was there?” Gordon won the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-119 victory in the first game of the Western Conference Semi-Final Series. “I know that's not a lady.”

Gordon smiled as he delivered the line. His nephews Zayne and Brody are on the side of the podium.

This star turn is not where Gordon usually finds himself, nor is it a position he particularly likes. But he has found himself twice in this playoffs after winning.

Just 10 days ago, on April 26, Gordon caught a shot at Jokic and dunked the first buzzing game champion in playoff history, the Nuggets’ first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

He caused damage from behind the 3-point arc Monday night to complete an amazing 14-point comeback in the fourth seed Nuggets at Oklahoma City's Paycom Center.

“Literally, he lives in the gym,” Nuggets Advance Christian Braun said of the warehouse that Gordon had converted into a home in Denver with a half and basket on it, and would shoot when he couldn’t fall asleep at night or wake up early in the morning.

“It kind of helps when you can roll out of bed and go to the gym shoot.”

Indeed, Gordon's three-point shooting percentage this season is 43.6%, a huge percentage of his career 33.1.

“He's the soul of this team,” Jokic said. “He may not have the respect he deserves. But I don't think he needs it.”

On other nights, Jokic and his 42 points and 22 rebounds will be the title of this Nuggets victory. He was haunted by all the games of fouls, by the front lines of Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein of the Thunder, and was able to rest within six minutes of the super physics game. But, because he has had many times throughout his outstanding career, Jokic simply did not let Denver surrender.

He scored 18 points in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets have been out of the Thunder's double-digit lead. When Denver finished the game 15-4, he hit 10 of 13 free throws, including two big shots, with 12.2 seconds left, returning from a 9-point deficit in the last three minutes. Since 2015, the Nuggets have become the first team to do so.

“We've gone through a lot of things in this group,” Gordon said. “We're coming from behind in a lot of games. It's not necessarily what we're going to do or what we want to do. But we know we're already in that position. … We have a lot of kindness in this group. A lot of courage.”